Classic Literature and a Disney Trip

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When we decided we were going to Disney World, I knew I wanted to incorporate it into our schooling leading up to the trip. I wanted real, authentic, learning that would also keep them excited about the trip and help them make connections along the way. I decided to focus on literature tie-ins with Disney. There are some obvious choices like the fairy tale stories of the various princesses, but I wanted to interest a thirteen-year-old boy, a twelve-year-old girl, and a five-year-old boy so I was looking for something a little different. We decided to focus on some of the literature classics that Disney had turned into both movies and theme park attractions.

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Conveniently, my daughter’s literature curriculum already had her reading Tom Sawyer. My older son had previously read the book, but decided to listen to the audio book as a refresher. Once we were at the parks, they loved the opportunity to explore ‘Tom Sawyer’s Island’ in the Magic Kingdom. They had the chance to go down into ‘mine tunnels’, cross barrel bridges, explore a fort, and check out an old windmill. In addition to Tom Sawyer, you could choose some other Mark Twain inspired attractions. Twain is featured on the steamboat ride, the American Adventure in Epcot and more.

I decided thatPeter Pan would be a great choice for the whole family. We purchased this one on audio bookand began listening before we left for our trip and listened a bit while we were traveling. I do want to note that we used an unabridged version of the book and there were several instances of inappropriate language ( I have found this to be fairly common in older British literature). We enjoyed the Peter Pan’s Flight ride in Magic Kingdom and look forward to using the Disney movie for a family movie night soon!

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We had listened toAlice in Wonderland earlier in the year prior to watching a play based on the book. The story can get a bit crazy but the children enjoyed it and The Mad Tea Party ride was one of their favorites! We managed to ride that one three or four times while we were there. We did not try them but they even have themed snacks at the restaurant next door to the ride.

With my five-year-old in mind, but knowing we would all enjoy it, we also listening to the House at Pooh Corner. This was a great choice because it was a fun and easy story and there were lots of connections to be made. We rode the Pooh Corner ride and had dinner with Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, and Tigger. We also had the chance to meet Pooh over in the England section of Epcot.

Our final selection was Swiss Family Robinson. This book is such a fun classic tale of adventure that all of my children enjoyed. Disney has an awesome replica of the tree house that you can walk through and enjoy seeing the various rooms as described in the book. Even better, there was no wait time for this attraction so it was a great way to take a break from the lines and enjoy a more leisurely pace in the shade.

There are lots of ways to incorporate learning into your Disney trip, but we really enjoyed making the connections with literature. It also kept the children entertained as we listened on the long road trip down to Florida. There are many options that we didn’t have time to cover that could be used for a variety of aged and interests. What is your favorite book that has a Disney connection?

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Adding Fun Into Your Homeschool: Field Trips

When we started homeschooling, my oldest son was in first grade and my daughter was four but wanted to ‘do school’ like big brother, so she was doing a mix of preschool and kindergarten materials. I had set up our school schedule and thought I had a great plan. It worked for a week or two but then we found the other homeschoolers in our area and started hearing about all of these wonderful opportunities. A trip to the fire department, a local play, a trip to the nature center. I jumped at the opportunity to be involved in these wonderful trips and saw how much my children were learning.

Adding Fun Field Trips

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There was just one problem, it was putting me behind on my schedule and I felt like I was struggling to keep up with my plans and these trips. By the second year, I realized that I needed to value these opportunities and leave space for them in my plans. I started planning for a four-day school week and allowing a day for field trip, or enrichment, opportunities each week. While it looks a little different now with two middle school students, I still allow for a field trip day each week because I think those opportunities are invaluable. They learn so much for the real-life environments and they have fun. When people ask my 13-year-old why he likes homeschool better than public school, one of the first things he says is that he gets to go on more field trips. Our field trips range from a quick trip to the local library, a day visit at a nearby nature park or aquarium, to incorporating learning opportunities into family vacations out of state. They all provide a variety of learning opportunities.

For young children, field trips provide great exposure to a variety of people and places that they need to be familiar with particularly the group that are often called, “community helpers”. What better way to understand about police officers, postal workers, firemen, and other community workers than to talk to them, see them working, and learn about their jobs. A trip to the fire department most often also includes some great fire safety education to help keep them safe in our homes.

You can talk about flowers, birds, and fish all day long, but if you want to get a child really excited about those things, they need to see them. Hikes in your local park and trips to the aquarium, zoo, or nature center can help students really enjoy learning about the world around them and give them a greater appreciation for God’s creation. Many state and national parks offer free or inexpensive classes and guided programs, and self-guided junior ranger activities to help them learn more about different aspects of nature that are present in that park. We have enjoyed bird walks, tree identification programs, and a nature scavenger hunt at area parks.

I feel saddened every time I hear someone say that history is boring. Too often people view history as a list of dates and names to memorize. When my children were in preschool we were very blessed to find living history programs geared towards preschoolers at our local historic site. We would attend once a month and they would bring history to life. There were crafts, impersonations, tours, and more that all made them excited to learn about history. Historic interpreters and living history events can really bring history to life and make it so much more fun and exciting. We now actively search out living history events at other historic sites to visit and volunteer our time at our local site to help bring history to life for other families.

I have had people tell me that they don’t have the budget for field trips and I know this is true in some situations. However, please note that trips do not need to be expensive or far away to add in lots of fun and education. Many of the parks and sites are free or only a couple of dollars per person and some offer group rates for homeschool groups. Most of the community services will do free field trips. There are also often homeschool discounts at larger venues such as aquariums and zoos. When we go overnight, we often camp in a state or national park to save money over hotels (most charge around $25 a night) and pack most of our meals.

I would love to hear about how you incorporate field trips into your homeschool. For more information about specific field trips check out our Field Trip Friday posts. Thank you for joining us this week for the blog hop! Don’t forget to check back often for more homeschool encouragement and check out the other posts in the hop today.

CREW @ Homeschool Review Crew – 2019 Annual Not Back to School Homeschool Blog Hop

Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses – ABC of Homeschooling

Dawn @ Schoolin’ Swag – Adding Fun to Your Homeschool Day

Erin @ For Him and My Family – Large Family Homeschooling

Lori @ At Home Where Life Happens – Learning Life Skills

Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling – Homeschooling the High School Years

Monique D. @ Early Learning Mom – Homeschooling With Autism

Yvie @ Homeschool On the Range – 5 Days of Upper Grades Homeschooling

Abby @ Making Room 4 One More – Time Management for Homeschool Moms

Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool – 5 Days of Homeschool Questions

Amy @ the WRITE Balance – Year-Round Schooling

Annette @ A Net in Time – Homeschooling.

Betty @ Lets Get Real – Homeschooling High School

Cassandra @ My Blessed Mess – Eclectic Homeschooling
Kimberley @ Vintage Blue Suitcase – Roadschooling with a Teenager

Yvonne @ The Life We Build – 5 Days of Relaxed Homeschooling

Destiny @ Some Call It Destiny – Encouragement for the Homeschooling Mom

Karen @ Tots and Me…Growing Up Together – A Peek into Our Homeschool

Cassie D @ Deputie Tribe – Homeschooling 6 Taking Care of YOU

Kristen Heider @ A Mom’s Quest to Teach –Theme: A Quest for a Great Homeschool Year

Patti Pierce – Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy – My Favorite Homeschooling Things

Wendy @ Life on Chickadee Lane – 5 Days of Nature Study

Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning – Homeschooling my final 4

Christine @ Life’s Special Necessities – Yes! You Can Homeschool Your Special Needs Child

Sally M – Tell the Next Generation – Tips for Homeschooling Struggling Learners

Kim @ Good Sweet Love – Last Year of Elementary

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Back to School Bundle Sale going on now!! Back to Homeschool Online Course Bundle

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

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Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

Adding Fun to Your Homeschool: Incorporating Hobbies

Children (and adults) naturally want to learn more about the subjects that interest them. We can incorporate fun into our homeschools by incorporating those hobbies that already interest them into their school days and often into other subjects that they might not have a natural interest.

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One of the hobbies that we first incorporated into our homeschool was Legos. My son adored anything related to Legos and I began to use them often. He would play with them while I read aloud, it kept his hands busy and his mind focused on the book. Then we used them for him to make projects related to history and science. He created the Great Pyramids of Giza the year that we studied Ancient Egypt and even won a ribbon when he entered them into a competition at the fair. Later he built a model of Tryon Palace that was displayed at the history museum. I have even seen them used for fractions and other math concepts.

Tying into the Lego concept, a newer hobby that we have incorporated into our school is stopmotion video. My son uses a kit from Stopmotion Explosion and his Legos to make videos about history or science. This is a great way for them to share what they are learning or to encourage them to do a little more research to get information for a video.

Science tends to come to life when it can be hands on and active. To help add fun to our science we have incorporated several hobbies that are science based. My children, especially my boys, love gardening. They can learn about plants, insects, composting, seasons, and so much more just through the garden without ever even looking at a formal textbook. We also enjoy bee keeping and have several hives in our backyard. This also gives my children a chance to learn in a real-life way and encourages them to be more aware of pollinators and other insects.

Art and music are subjects that sometimes get pushed to the side or left out due to time constraints. I am as guilty of that as any mom, but I have been working on doing a better job of included those subjects because my children are very interested in them. I can incorporate them into our other studies in various forms. For example, my son enjoys drawing and I can have him show me what he learned in science by drawing a picture of the concept. My daughter has really gotten into music since she began playing the violin. She recently enjoyed collecting songs that went along with the history program that we were studying. A child could also create a song to help them remember math facts or science terms. Bible study is another great place to incorporate music, through hymn studies or songs to help memorize scripture.

When we can weave things that our children enjoy into our other homeschool subjects, we can make those subjects more fun. While I am the first to admit that sometimes you just need to do the work because it is important information, I try to incorporate fun ideas whenever possible. Just like in real life, I may not enjoy mopping the kitchen floor but it is always better when I turn on some music or a podcast. What hobbies do your children enjoy that you could weave into your homeschool day? For help with encouraging hobbies you can check out our post from this spring: Exploring Hobbies on a Time and Money Budget.

Don’t forget to check out all of the other great blog hop posts and come back tomorrow for the final installment in this series!

CREW @ Homeschool Review Crew – 2019 Annual Not Back to School Homeschool Blog Hop

Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses – ABC of Homeschooling

Dawn @ Schoolin’ Swag – Adding Fun to Your Homeschool Day

Erin @ For Him and My Family – Large Family Homeschooling

Lori @ At Home Where Life Happens – Learning Life Skills

Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling – Homeschooling the High School Years

Monique D. @ Early Learning Mom – Homeschooling With Autism

Yvie @ Homeschool On the Range – 5 Days of Upper Grades Homeschooling

Abby @ Making Room 4 One More – Time Management for Homeschool Moms

Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool – 5 Days of Homeschool Questions

Amy @ the WRITE Balance – Year-Round Schooling

Annette @ A Net in Time – Homeschooling.

Betty @ Lets Get Real – Homeschooling High School

Cassandra @ My Blessed Mess – Eclectic Homeschooling
Kimberley @ Vintage Blue Suitcase – Roadschooling with a Teenager

Yvonne @ The Life We Build – 5 Days of Relaxed Homeschooling

Destiny @ Some Call It Destiny – Encouragement for the Homeschooling Mom

Karen @ Tots and Me…Growing Up Together – A Peek into Our Homeschool

Cassie D @ Deputie Tribe – Homeschooling 6 Taking Care of YOU

Kristen Heider @ A Mom’s Quest to Teach –Theme: A Quest for a Great Homeschool Year

Patti Pierce – Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy – My Favorite Homeschooling Things

Wendy @ Life on Chickadee Lane – 5 Days of Nature Study

Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning – Homeschooling my final 4

Christine @ Life’s Special Necessities – Yes! You Can Homeschool Your Special Needs Child

Sally M – Tell the Next Generation – Tips for Homeschooling Struggling Learners

Kim @ Good Sweet Love – Last Year of Elementary

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Deals and Freebies

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!
Back to School Bundle Sale going on now!! Back to Homeschool Online Course Bundle

Adding Fun Into Your Homeschool: Cooking

I don’t know about your house but in my house, everyone seems to expect at least three meals a day! When someone is in a growth spurt, you can add in second breakfast and several snacks. This means that I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. My children love to be in the kitchen with me, helping cook and ‘sneaking’ samples. I decided years ago that I needed to make the most of that time.

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When I allow and encourage my children to join me in the kitchen it opens up lots of opportunities for fun and learning to happen, all while we are completing a necessary task. When they are young they are working on fine motor skills while they stir, crack eggs, and chop up fruits and vegetables with their special knives. As they get older the opportunities multiply.

Young students learn about fractions as they use measuring cups or double recipes. They can also practice various forms of measurement with tablespoons, cups, pints, and quarts. To incorporate math into cooking with older students you can look at the nutritional information, cost per serving, or other factors to use real-life math applications.

Incorporating Cooking into Your Homeschool

We have had the opportunity to incorporate cooking into a variety of our science curricula. When we did Apologia’s Swimming Creatures, we tried to cook something that applied to each chapter when possible. We had fish, clams, oysters, shrimp, and crabs. The children really enjoyed it.

We have also used cooking to study chemistry. You can study how yeast makes bread rise, or how different things react to lemon juice. You can make salad dressing with and without an emulsifier and see what happens. You can make ice cream in a bag with salt on the ice and without, seeing the effects of the salt. For more examples of chemistry in the kitchen, you can check out this post at A2Z Homeschool.

Cooking and History

Our favorite way to incorporate cooking into our homeschool has been in our history and geography studies. I first got the idea when we were using Story of the World for history and they occasionally included recipes with the chapters. Most of them were recipes from the region and time periods we were studying, such as a Japanese tea and Apache fry bread.

Sometimes they were projects that related to the lesson through a creative idea such as using cookie dough to make the Parthenon. We began adding food to as many history lessons as possible because we found that the children really enjoyed it and the sensory experience of a meal made it easier for them to remember what they learned.

Just this past week we enjoyed a Polish Christmas feast. It was complete with a poppy seed cake based off of the study of Chopin in the music appreciation course that my daughter is currently working through. She baked the cake, made beet soup, perogies, kielbasa and sauerkraut. I never thought I would use cooking to learn about music but it just shows you that you can weave a seemingly mundane everyday task into just about any subject.

Have you ever incorporated cooking into your homeschool? Do your children enjoy getting in the kitchen and helping with meals and snacks? For more ideas about getting your children involved in the kitchen check out Homeschool in the Kitchen. Don’t forget to check out all of the other blog hop posts and check back tomorrow for more fun ideas.

UPDATE: Check out the subscriber library for free summer cooking challenges for young children and teens!

CREW @ Homeschool Review Crew – 2019 Annual Not Back to School Homeschool Blog Hop

Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses – ABC of Homeschooling

Dawn @ Schoolin’ Swag – Adding Fun to Your Homeschool Day

Erin @ For Him and My Family – Large Family Homeschooling

Lori @ At Home Where Life Happens – Learning Life Skills

Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling – Homeschooling the High School Years

Monique D. @ Early Learning Mom – Homeschooling With Autism

Yvie @ Homeschool On the Range – 5 Days of Upper Grades Homeschooling

Abby @ Making Room 4 One More – Time Management for Homeschool Moms

Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool – 5 Days of Homeschool Questions

Amy @ the WRITE Balance – Year-Round Schooling

Annette @ A Net in Time – Homeschooling.

Betty @ Lets Get Real – Homeschooling High School

Cassandra @ My Blessed Mess – Eclectic Homeschooling
Kimberley @ Vintage Blue Suitcase – Roadschooling with a Teenager

Yvonne @ The Life We Build – 5 Days of Relaxed Homeschooling

Destiny @ Some Call It Destiny – Encouragement for the Homeschooling Mom

Karen @ Tots and Me…Growing Up Together – A Peek into Our Homeschool

Cassie D @ Deputie Tribe – Homeschooling 6 Taking Care of YOU

Kristen Heider @ A Mom’s Quest to Teach –Theme: A Quest for a Great Homeschool Year

Patti Pierce – Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy – My Favorite Homeschooling Things

Wendy @ Life on Chickadee Lane – 5 Days of Nature Study

Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning – Homeschooling my final 4

Christine @ Life’s Special Necessities – Yes! You Can Homeschool Your Special Needs Child

Sally M – Tell the Next Generation – Tips for Homeschooling Struggling Learners

Kim @ Good Sweet Love – Last Year of Elementary

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Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

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Deals and Freebies

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

Adding Fun Into Your Homeschool: Games

When we talk about incorporating games into your homeschooling, many folks automatically assume that we are only talking about early elementary school. It is easy to think of games that teach colors and shapes or other basic concepts. I will mention a few of those games today, but I also want to think about games that can be beneficial for our older students.

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

One of our favorite types of game to play as a family is history related games. My husband loves history and will often join us for those types of games. My children have been really enjoying American History Timeline. You are dealt cards with various events from American history and each time you have a turn you have to place one of those spots in the correct place on the timeline of cards. Once you have placed the card, it is turned over to reveal the date. If it is correct, the game continues to the next player. If the card is in the wrong spot the player puts the card at the bottom of the deck and draws another card. The first player to successfully place all of their cards wins. We also really enjoy the history games from Home School in the Woods. She has a variety of file folder games that you can print and play focused on various time periods and historical locations. They are a great way to add a little fun to your studies.

In addition to history, there are several options to use games to work on geography. My children received Ticket to Ride for Christmas and have really enjoyed playing it. As they make connections and complete routes, they become more familiar with the United States and various major cities across the map. They also have a variety of other boards and expansion packs, so you could have maps of Europe and other locations. I certainly wouldn’t use it as my only geography study but it is a fun way to help cement knowledge or peak interest. Scrambled States of America is another great one that is even more directly educational while still being lots of fun. In this game you learn about the fifty states, their capitals, mottos, and other interesting information about each state. If you like computer based games, Stack the States is a lot of fun.

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There are a variety of opportunities for math games to add in a little fun. Some games such as Telling Time Bingo and Frog Pond Fractions were created with the express purpose of teaching math skills. While others are a bit more subtle in their math lessons. For example, Yahtzee and Monopoly both require players to use various math skills as they complete the game. My children also enjoy Life on the Farm and Act Your Wage, and I find both of those games to be more enjoyable than Monopoly and not quite so lengthy. When I asked about games on my Facebook page last week someone also mentioned, Smath which is like scrabble for math. I have not yet tried it, but I have added it to my wish list. You can also check out my post on using card games to help with math concepts.

In addition to academic subjects, I think games can be a great way to work on character traits as well as critical thinking. Games such as Clue and Guess Who? can be fun ways to work on those critical thinking skills. There are also a variety of cooperative games that are available. In these games children are working together to achieve the goal instead of competing. I find that these can be helpful with siblings who might be struggling with attitudes towards each other. We particularly like Wildcraft as a family and my five-year-old son enjoys Count Your Chickens.

For the preschool crowd, there are dozens of wonderful options for teaching cooperation, colors, shapes, letter, and beginning math concepts. I could write an entire post on the options but I will just share a few of our favorites with you today. When my older two children were preschool age, Leap Frog had a Letter Factory game. They spent hours playing that game and learning their letters. A favorite that has been around since I was a little girl is High-Ho Cherry-o. I also highly recommend pattern blocks, even though they may be considered more of a toy than a game.

There are so many ways to add fun into your homeschool day through games. I would love for you to share your family’s favorite games in the comments and tell me how you incorporate games into your homeschool days. Don’t forget to check out all of the other great blog hop posts today!

CREW @ Homeschool Review Crew – 2019 Annual Not Back to School Homeschool Blog Hop

Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses – ABC of Homeschooling

Dawn @ Schoolin’ Swag – Adding Fun to Your Homeschool Day

Erin @ For Him and My Family – Large Family Homeschooling

Lori @ At Home Where Life Happens – Learning Life Skills

Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling – Homeschooling the High School Years

Monique D. @ Early Learning Mom – Homeschooling With Autism

Yvie @ Homeschool On the Range – 5 Days of Upper Grades Homeschooling

Abby @ Making Room 4 One More – Time Management for Homeschool Moms

Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool – 5 Days of Homeschool Questions

Amy @ the WRITE Balance – Year-Round Schooling

Annette @ A Net in Time – Homeschooling.

Betty @ Lets Get Real – Homeschooling High School

Cassandra @ My Blessed Mess – Eclectic Homeschooling
Kimberley @ Vintage Blue Suitcase – Roadschooling with a Teenager

Yvonne @ The Life We Build – 5 Days of Relaxed Homeschooling

Destiny @ Some Call It Destiny – Encouragement for the Homeschooling Mom

Karen @ Tots and Me…Growing Up Together – A Peek into Our Homeschool

Cassie D @ Deputie Tribe – Homeschooling 6 Taking Care of YOU

Kristen Heider @ A Mom’s Quest to Teach –Theme: A Quest for a Great Homeschool Year

Patti Pierce – Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy – My Favorite Homeschooling Things

Wendy @ Life on Chickadee Lane – 5 Days of Nature Study

Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning – Homeschooling my final 4

Christine @ Life’s Special Necessities – Yes! You Can Homeschool Your Special Needs Child

Sally M – Tell the Next Generation – Tips for Homeschooling Struggling Learners

Kim @ Good Sweet Love – Last Year of Elementary

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

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Deals and Freebies

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.

If you missed the sale last month, Tuttle Twins is doing a 50% off sale in honor of back to school! Simply use the code: SCHOOL

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

Adding Fun to Your Homeschool: Contests/Competitions

Intrinsic motivation is a wonderful thing, but sometimes a little contest or competition can get students excited and motivated to do their very best. I have found that when I can tie schoolwork into a contest or competition my children will work harder and turn in work that is above what they typically do for a ‘regular’ assignment. There is also generally less grumbling and excited planning.

contests

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While not every assignment can or should be a competition, there are lots of available options. Writing is one of the easiest subjects to incorporate this strategy. There are quite a few writing competitions available for a variety of prompts and genres, many of them are free to enter. We personally participate in writing competitions with the North Carolina Tar Heel Junior Historians and the North Carolina State Fair. The 4-H program also offers some great writing competitions. Having these prompts and directions can help students be engaged and excited about their writing. It also gives them the opportunity to get feedback from someone outside of the home about their writing. I found that this was particularly helpful to me when one of my children thought that I was too harsh of a critic. The feedback on their entries helped them realize that correct spelling really was important and noticed by other people.

Science is another great area to incorporate competitions. You could participate in a local science fair (or start one) and allow them to work through the scientific process. You could also work on things through Science Olympiad which would allow them to compete on a team in various science activities. Another option that we utilize are 4-H competitions. My children participate in Avian Bowl, Poultry Judging, and Poultry Skill-a-thon as well as other livestock and chicken activities. They also offer competitions in robotics, horticulture, and many other science areas. Students learn to be subject matter ‘experts’ in their fields and spend lots of time studying and learning together.

In addition to writing projects, my children participate in a variety of history projects through the North Carolina Tar Heel Junior Historians program. They are able to make models, film movies, create scrapbooks and more all while learning about North Carolina history. This is a great incentive for them to do their very best. I also appreciate that this particular program is really good at making them cite their sources and learn about good research. There are junior historian programs around the country and I highly recommend checking to see if you have a program local to your area.

If you have a budding artist or photographer there are lots of opportunities for competitions in these areas. My daughter has just gotten into photography after purchasing a camera at a local yard sale. She is going to be using the 4H photography curriculum and the photography courses from SchoolhouseTeachers.com to help her grow her skills and then entering her pictures into our state fair, Tar Heel Junior Historians competition, and a 4H spring competition. There are dozens of other small art and photography competitions that your student could enter to display their work and get expert feedback in order to continue to improve their work.

Last but certainly not least, I want to take a minute to talk about public speaking. I believe that public speaking is a skill that is important for students no matter what their career or life goals. As adults they need to be comfortable speaking to a variety of people in a variety of situations. We have found that 4H presentations have been a great way to improve my children’s comfort levels when speaking in front of a group of people. My oldest son has been participating in presentations for about seven years and I have watched him not only get more comfortable during presentations but also flourish in a variety of speaking situations. He can interact with people in a confident and clear manner. This was a major benefit last year when he was running a supply trailer after Hurricane Florence. He interacted with volunteers, disaster victims, and the people and companies bringing in supplies. More than once people sought me out to tell me how impressed they were with his communication skills. I truly believe that 4H presentations are a big part of that success.

Contests and competitions are one way to add a little fun into your homeschool. Make sure to check back each day this week for a new way to add fun. Also, do not forget to check out some of the other great posts in this five-day blog hop. There is sure to be some help and encouragement for you.

CREW @ Homeschool Review Crew – 2019 Annual Not Back to School Homeschool Blog Hop

Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses – ABC of Homeschooling

Dawn @ Schoolin’ Swag – Adding Fun to Your Homeschool Day

Erin @ For Him and My Family – Large Family Homeschooling

Lori @ At Home Where Life Happens – Learning Life Skills

Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling – Homeschooling the High School Years

Monique D. @ Early Learning Mom – Homeschooling With Autism

Yvie @ Homeschool On the Range – 5 Days of Upper Grades Homeschooling

Abby @ Making Room 4 One More – Time Management for Homeschool Moms

Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool – 5 Days of Homeschool Questions

Amy @ the WRITE Balance – Year-Round Schooling

Annette @ A Net in Time – Homeschooling.

Betty @ Lets Get Real – Homeschooling High School

Cassandra @ My Blessed Mess – Eclectic Homeschooling
Kimberley @ Vintage Blue Suitcase – Roadschooling with a Teenager

Yvonne @ The Life We Build – 5 Days of Relaxed Homeschooling

Destiny @ Some Call It Destiny – Encouragement for the Homeschooling Mom

Karen @ Tots and Me…Growing Up Together – A Peek into Our Homeschool

Cassie D @ Deputie Tribe – Homeschooling 6 Taking Care of YOU

Kristen Heider @ A Mom’s Quest to Teach –Theme: A Quest for a Great Homeschool Year

Patti Pierce – Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy – My Favorite Homeschooling Things

Wendy @ Life on Chickadee Lane – 5 Days of Nature Study

Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning – Homeschooling my final 4

Christine @ Life’s Special Necessities – Yes! You Can Homeschool Your Special Needs Child

Sally M – Tell the Next Generation – Tips for Homeschooling Struggling Learners

Kim @ Good Sweet Love – Last Year of Elementary

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

Back to School Blog Hop 2019!

I am so excited to share with you that the Review Crew is doing another amazing Back to School Blog Hop! I always enjoy reading all of these wonderful posts just in time to get me excited for another new year of homeschooling! The Blog Hop will run from August 12th through the 16th and I will be sharing a new post here each day as well as linking to the posts from the other Crew Members that will be participating. This year we are each sharing on our own home school related themes.

I will be sharing each day about a different way to add a bit of fun into your home school day without changing curriculum! We will talk about things you can add or tweak to bring a little more excitement into your homeschooling experience. Make sure to check back here on Monday August 12th for the first installment in this series! There will be a variety of topics covered in the hop, including peace in your home school, upper grades homeschooling, favorite home school things and so much more.

Day 1: Adding Fun to Your Homeschool: Contests/Competitions

Day 2: Adding Fun Into Your Homeschool: Games

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

Deals and Freebies

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

Category: Adding Fun Into Your Homeschool

Classic Literature and a Disney Trip

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Deals and Freebies

Adding Fun Into Your Homeschool: Field Trips

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Deals and Freebies

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.

Adding Fun to Your Homeschool: Incorporating Hobbies

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Deals and Freebies

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.

Adding Fun Into Your Homeschool: Cooking

Incorporating Cooking into Your Homeschool

Cooking and History

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Deals and Freebies

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.

Adding Fun Into Your Homeschool: Games

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Deals and Freebies

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.

Adding Fun to Your Homeschool: Contests/Competitions

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Deals and Freebies

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.

Back to School Blog Hop 2019!

Day 1: Adding Fun to Your Homeschool: Contests/Competitions

Day 2: Adding Fun Into Your Homeschool: Games

Day 3: Adding Fun Into Your Homeschool: Cooking

Day 4: Adding Fun to Your Homeschool: Incorporating Hobbies

Day 5: Adding Fun Into Your Homeschool: Field Trips

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Deals and Freebies

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month! Buy One year get One Year FREE! We use this for several of our courses and one price covers all the students in your home for as many of their over 400 courses and you would like to use.