Gift Ideas For Your Budding….

I absolutely love the Christmas season! The decorations, the food, lights, smells, family time, songs, and all of the joy and excitement. I love giving gifts and enjoy receiving them, but the one thing I don’t love is feeling like we have so much clutter because of all the gifts. I want to be very clear, that I am super grateful for the love that is shown to my children through gifts and they love them. It is just that when they get so many things all at once, it can feel like clutter. If we are not careful, things can even get pushed to the side and forgotten about.

In an effort to help calm the clutter but still encourage fun and love that are incorporated into gift giving, I thought I would come up with some fun but useful ideas for children with various interests. Over the course of this week, I will be posting each day with ideas for a different interest. If there are other interests or ideas that you have please feel free to share them. You can also check out Educational Christmas Ideas (that don’t feel like school supplies), Clutter Free Christmas Ideas, and Twelve Christmas Adventures for even more clutter free Christmas ideas. If you have other interests or hobbies that you would like to see included, please share in the comments.

Gift Ideas For Your Budding….

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When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

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This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

Not Consumed has a special early sale on their new Bible studies! Sale ends today!

Evan-Moor is having a 40% off sale on their e-books. use code: VDAY40

The Old Schoolhouse is running a great special on their magazine! $19 for a year’s subscription and some fun digital curriculum as a bonus.

Crystal Paine is launching her newest e-book, Slashing Your Grocery Bill for a special launch price of just $7!! She always has great tips on saving money over at her blog, Money Saving Mom.

Sally Clarkson just launched her newest book, a devotional for moms! You can purchase it at Amazon now .

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!

CrossTimber: Your Amazing Name Video (Review)

The Your Amazing Name – Personalized Adventures for EVERY name! video by CrossTimber – Name Meaning Gifts is one of the most unique reviews we have done with the Review Crew. While these videos follow a template they are personalized with your child’s name, art work, address, photograph, and a letter from the parents (or whomever is purchasing the video for the child).

When you purchase this for your child, CrossTimber – Name Meaning Gifts sends you a Google form to fill out with information about your child. You include all of the information that they need to personalize the video. My favorite part was the opportunity to write a short letter to Benjamin. This was a wonderful way for us to share how we chose his name and remind him how special he is to us and God. You also include a piece of artwork that your child has done. This artwork is used throughout the video and is a really fun way for your child to connect to the video. We sent in a tractor he had drawn and he enjoyed seeing it show up in various settings of the video.

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The video is animated and takes your child on an adventure to learn about the meaning of their name. Our video was particularly interesting because my son shares a name with the main “character”, an animated pencil named Benjamin. The pencil takes your child on a rocket ship, made out of the child’s artwork to meet the stars. The stars share about how each of them has a name and how important our names are to God who knows all of our names. Then you also go to a tree house to meet an owl who talks about name origins, and even into a field to meet the sheep that ‘once was lost and now is found.’ Throughout the story you are learning more about names and name origins, the child’s specific name, and how God views each of us as individuals and knows us by name.

When I asked Benjamin what his favorite part was he said that he really enjoyed the part with the owl. The owl taught about names and told Benjamin that his name came from the Hebrew language and the country of Israel. Then at the end of the video, it shared that his name means “Son of my Right Hand, Mighty in Spirit”.

As a fun bonus, they included a PDF of personalized worksheets about Benjamin’s name. there were mazes, coloring pages, copywork, and tracing paper focusing on his name. These are perfect for us because he is working on learning how to write his name.

Check out this sample video for more information!

If you are looking for a unique and meaningful gift for a child in your life, consider getting them the Your Amazing Name – Personalized Adventures for EVERY name! video. I would recommend these videos for children in the 4-10 year old age range, although my eleven year old daughter saw my son’s video and requested a video using her name. In addition to the videos, CrossTimber – Name Meaning Gifts has a variety of personalized items sharing more about your child’s name including plaques, mugs, music boxes and more. Make sure that you click on the graphic below to find out what the other Review Crew members thought.

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The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls 5& 6 (Book Review)

What do you do when your daughter loves a series that she began last year, even though they are really below her grade level at this point? You agree to review them and let her read them, of course! I love to encourage reading for fun and delight and sometimes that means reading something that is an ‘easy read’ because you want to keep going in a series or because you want to know what happens next. Last year we had the opportunity to review books 3 and 4 in the Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series by WorthyKids Books . This time we had the pleasure of reviewing Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Shepherd’s Stone (Book 5) and Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Lion’s Roar (Book 6).

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Instead of just my opinion on the books, I thought you might enjoy hearing from my eleven-year-old daughter, Elizabeth.

Tell me about Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Shepherd’s Stone (Book 5):

Mary and her brother Peter travel through time back to Bible times and in this book they meet David (the one who fought Goliath) and go with him to the army camp and watch as David fights Goliath. While they are doing that they are trying to solve the mystery of the hidden scroll. This means they must figure out what words are on the scroll because it is in a different language. The message on the scroll in this book is “fear not God is stronger than any problem!” When they say the word it turns into the right word. You have to read to the end to find out if they solve the mystery in time.

Tell me about Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Lion’s Roar (Book 6):

The lions roar (which starts each new adventure) takes Mary and Peter back to the story of Daniel in Babylon. They watch as the high priest is trying to get rid of Daniel. They see that Daniel still disobeys the law and prays to God and how he knows God will protect him. Then he gets thrown into the lions den. Mary and Peter look for Daniel and then they get thrown into the den by the high priest who is looking for them because they would not bow down to a statue. Will they escape? You have to read the book to find out! The message in this book is” God is in control”.

What do you like about these books?
I like how they turn a Bible story into a book that is fun and interesting.
Who do you recommend them for?

If you are looking for a way to teach a younger child, ages 6-10, about the Bible and God.
Anything you don’t like about these books?

Not really, I really like them.

From a parent’s perspective, I felt like they did a good job of staying true to the Bible though there are obviously fictionalized components. The book begins in modern times with two siblings staying at their uncle’s house. Since this is not their first adventure they know when they find an old scroll that it is going to take them on a time traveling adventure. Each book takes them into a different Bible story with a new message to solve. At the end of the book there is a section which explains where in the Bible you can read the story and a little about the fictionalization of the story. I think that makes for some great discussions about being sure to understand what is in the Bible itself.

WorthyKids Books recommends this book for first through third grades. I think the story is great for an even wider range, maybe kindergarten through fifth grades read aloud. The independent reading level is probably closer to second or third grade, though a strong first grader may be able to read it. Check out the giveaway that is linked in the image above for a chance to win all seven books! Also, be sure to click on the graphic below to check out what the other Review Crew members thought about these books. Tell me in the comments what Bible story you think the author should turn into the next book in the series.

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Our Morning Basket 2019 (and a Free Printable)

I had high hopes for a nice morning basket time last year but in reality, it didn’t happen very often. Our together time was spent serving at church (look for my post later this week about our year of service in the aftermath of Florence) or working on more ‘pressing’ educational assignments and much of their learning was done independently. We did what needed to be done and I have no regrets on that end but I really missed the time together and wanted to get back to it. I spent a lot of time contemplating how I wanted to work out our morning basket time with ages ranging from thirteen years to eighteen months.

We are only about a week into school, and I fully accept that we may have to modify or adapt, but what has been working so far is to do our morning basket time in the living room right after breakfast. The toddler is still awake and happy, and everyone else is ready to go. The toddler plays on the floor while we learn together. I decided to focus on a few short items each day and not to stress about covering a certain amount. In general, I just do the next thing for a couple of subjects including hymn study, composer study, read aloud, and Bible.

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For hymn study, the first few days of a month we read about the story of the hymn, who wrote the hymn, and any scripture references that align with the hymn. Then each morning we listen to one or two editions of the hymn and sing along as we learn the words. We can also include copy work and art lessons into our study but typically I assign those to be done outside of morning basket time.

In an effort to make it very easy for me to include composer study into our routine, I signed up for the Women Composers study over at Enrichment Studies. Each morning I get an e-mail with information about a female composer and links to listen to their works. This takes 5-10 minutes and is a great way to expose them to a variety of composers. This course is one semester long and next semester I will choose something else in its place, possibly an artist study.

I know reading aloud is one of the most important things I can do in my home school. I also know how easy it is to get busy and not include this time, especially with older students. However, by having it on the list first thing in the morning I am more likely to get it done and by reading aloud the same book to everyone we have a shared family experience that brings us closer. I started this school year with Who Was Beatrix Potter? which aligned well to the book I was reading with my five-year-old and some books that I had read personally. I plan to choose a variety of fiction and non-fiction books as we go through the year.

My two oldest children have their own Bible study/devotional times, but we also like to include Bible time together. This can range from reading a section in the Bible, going through a Bible study, or currently memorizing our Bible verse for the year. Each year I choose a Bible verse as a sort of theme or anchor in our year. This year I chose Deuteronomy 6:6-7. I created some fun printables with the verse to help my children memorize them and I have even included them as a free download (at the end of this post) for you if you would like to use them for memorization or a reminder.

I do not necessarily do every one of those things every day, but we spend 20-30 minutes together on those things before my older children work independently for a bit and I take the two youngest on a walk. We enjoy our time together and it helps us fit in some of those ‘extras’ that are easy to forget.

I would love to hear what you enjoy for your morning basket time? How does it work in your home?

Deuteronomy 6 Printables

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Deals and Freebies

Free 5 Day Learning without Worksheets Challenge: FREE 5-Day Learning Challenge We have done several of her different challenges in the past and they are lots of fun and easy to implement.

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)

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

Zeezok Music Appreciation (Review)

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One of the things I love about homeschooling is the ability to allow my children to explore a variety of interests and passions. My daughter has developed and interest in music through her violin lessons and our family trips to the symphony. I was excited to be able to review Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades and help her learn more about some of the composers whose music she was hearing and playing. Zeezok Publishing did a great job creating a program that helped her delve further into the lives and music of various composers while also teaching some basic information about reading and understanding music.

We received the student book and nine biographies covering seven composers (two of the composers were split into two books). When we started this program over the summer, I had my daughter, a rising sixth grader, working through the program with a little help from me. The program started with Frederic Chopin, Early Years and she learned about how he grew up in Poland and his childhood. We all enjoyed her fixing a Polish Christmas feast for dinner one night after learning about this custom. She used a recipe for poppy seed cake that was included in the activity book and found other recipes online for sauerkraut, kielbasa, perogies, and more.

The program would have her read several chapters and then do a variety of activities in the student book. This included answering questions about the chapters, listening to music selections via QR codes, and activities to learn about musical concepts such as the various types of notes (whole note, quarter note, etc). The curriculum also has the student create a journal to help record what they are learning and their thoughts about the composers. If you are in a state or situation where you need to track national standards the curriculum covers all of the national standards for music appreciation in fifth through eighth grades.

She was enjoying working through the program even though we were technically on summer break from school. As we are starting back to our regular schedule, I have switched it up a bit and I am going to use the biographies as a read aloud to all three of my school aged children. My daughter will still be completing the student book and activities but I thought all of the children would enjoying learning about the composers. We are currently learning about Schumann and look forward to also learning about Wagner, Foster, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and MacDowell.

The curriculum is designed for fifth through eighth graders but they do also have a coloring book that you can purchase to go along with the composers. This could be a great way to include younger siblings and I am considering purchasing one for my kindergartner. They also have a lap book that can be purchased for your hands-on learners.

I love it when I find a program that is fun and can teach my children (and me) about our interests. Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades certainly fit that description. The interesting biographies really helped us to connect with the composers, while the activities kept things fun and engaging. I encourage you to check out the program and also to click on the graphic below to check out the other Crew reviews and see how other families integrated it into their day.

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Z is for Zoo Adventure

Z is for the Complete Zoo Adventure by Mary and Gary Parker. This adorable book is both a nonfiction book and a curriculum combined. It is best used in conjunction with a field trip to the zoo, but could also be used to learn about the animals from home. This book is published by Master Books and is written from a creationist perspective.

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

zoo adventure

The book begins with seven devotions to help you prepare for your zoo trip and better understand God’s creation and plan. The devotions cover the 4Cs of God’s Word (creation, corruption, catastrophe, and Christ), Garden of Eden, the Ark, and more.

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The next section of the book is titled, “At the Zoo”, and includes beautiful pictures and information about 27 different animal species that are often found at the zoo. Each animal includes basic facts, pictures, a Bible verse, and a map showing where they are located. You can use this to learn about each animal as you find them at the zoo. You could also use these to do a virtual field trip finding information on the internet or using a variety of live cams and webcams at zoos to see the different animals.

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The final section is titled, “After the Zoo”. This includes over 30 different activity sheets that can be used to increase your knowledge of the various animals. There are also a variety of discussion questions and other ideas and suggestions included. The appendix includes answer keys, glossary, and other resources.

This book, The Complete Zoo Adventure, is a wonderful resource to use with your own family or with a small group or co-op class. While a trip to the zoo is a wonderful field trip and the best way to utilize this book, I would also recommend it for children that are interested in the animals but cannot not make the trip to a zoo.

Have you read this ‘Z’ book? Tell me what books come to mind when you think of the letter ‘Z’.

abcblogging

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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 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.

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

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.

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

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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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

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.

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!

Mid-Year Goals, Book, and Art Updates

How can 2019 already be half over? The year is passing quickly, but I’m pleased with the progress I’m making on several of my goals. First, we recently completed our goal of decluttering 1,000 things from our home. It was a family effort and it feels so good to have sold, donated, and trashed things that were no longer needed in our home to make space and reduce visual clutter. The children are also pleased that it makes cleaning up so much easier when there is less stuff. We had promised them the chance to go out to eat at a restaurant of their choice when we finished our goal. They debated on several fancier restaurants in town but ended up deciding on sushi and pizza. We even decided to give it a go again and work towards another 1,000 things but this time including items from our storage room.

I have been keeping up with my reading goals this summer and I am looking forward to reading even more as we have a little vacation coming up later this month. Since my last goals update, I have finished five more books and I am currently reading three others. I have shared a list of those books below but want to take a minute to highly encourage you to check out A Homeschool Experiment if you are looking for a fun but encouraging summer read. This is a novel about a mom’s experiment in homeschooling that will have you laughing, crying, and nodding your head and she goes through the process of figuring out what works best for her kids while showing the real-life side of things.

Books Read

Currently Reading:

Upcoming:

We have not done as much hiking in other places as I would have liked but I have been enjoying walking and biking with my youngest two children several times a week right in our own neighborhood. This has been a great way to get some miles in towards my 100-mile goal and we have plans for more hikes when the weather cools off a bit in the fall.

I have been a little slack over the summer at getting our foot print art posted so I wanted to take a minute and catch that up as well. In June we did a family hand print art project for my husband for Father’s Day. I convinced him to let me get his hand print four times on the canvas and then I put the hand print of each child into one of his hand prints. I thought it turned out well and he has it hanging up in his home office. I even managed to get the baby’s hand print.

For July we wanted to celebrate summer a bit and so we have feet in the sand foot print art! I first brushed the baby’s foot with paint and then placed it into the sand before making the prints on the paper. We used sand from our sand box because I forgot to do it when we were at the beach a couple weeks ago. You could use any kind of sand that was available. I do recommend dry sand so it doesn’t clump as badly.

We are making progress on our goals, enjoying a little down time this month as our summer winds down, and getting ready to jump back into our ‘school’ schedule in September. I would love to hear more from you about your goals and the progress you are making. Also, don’t forget to check back every day this week for our blog hop!

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!