Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Great Unschooling T-shirts!
If you are an unschooler and looking for some t-shirts to advertise your homeschooling choice, please check out my friend's store. They have great designs, and if you are a Gleek, you might be interested in her t-shirt designs as well! Unschool Super Store
Are You a Homeschooler in the Tulsa Area?
If you are a homeschooler and inerested in finding a homeschool support group, please check out O.K.I.E or Oklahoma Indepenent Educators. We are a participant led group of homeschool families. This group is a mix of individuals-we are all inclusive :) So if you are looking for a fun, educational and exciting time with other homeschoolers, please feel free to check us out! The website is brand new, so be sure to check it out often!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
What in the World is a Unit Study?!!!
Unit Studies can be a fun and frugal way of homeschooling your child. Or, if you are not a homeschooler, they can be a fun way to extend your child's learning at home-especially over the summer. But, what exactly is a unit study? A unit study is a theme-based or one topic idea which includes most or all subjects. For instance, perhaps your child is interested in horses. You can use this subject to teach math, science, art, history, and even some language arts. It can take a bit of research to get it started, but once you figure out how to find your info, it becomes easier and easier to plan out the unit studies.
We will look deeper into the theme of horses--we did this when my kids were younger and turned it into a lapbook-I will post about lapbooks later on. But, you can easily make notebooks with your unit study as well. For the horse unit, our math included learning about how horses are measured-by hands. We converted this into inches, and then I measured each child. From there, we converted the inches back into hands and made a chart showing how many hands high each child was. We also used the measuring tape to show how high different breeds of horses were. This math was converting inches, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and just basic measuring :) Lots of math right there, huh? For History, we learning the impact of horses on different time periods. What were they used for? When were the first horses ever used? When were the introduced into the U.S.? How does that compare to how they are used today? Another chart was made and placed into our lapbook. For art, we got the book "Leonardo's Horse". It was about Leonardo DiVinci's bronze horse statue he made. Not only did this book give us art direction-it also provided science on bronzing. And, I suppose it also gave us some historical teaching as well :) See how this works-you start in one area and easily branch out.
Now, not all unit studies will provide you with every lesson-not all will give you a math opportunity. Not all will provide you with history. But, if you plan it correctly, most of them will! And, as I said before, as you do more and more of these, they will come very easy to you. And, don't be surprised when your child comes up to you with their own ideas for unit studies!
To help you learn more, I have found some really great links:
Unit Studies
About.com Homeschooling goes right to the unit study page-lots of great info on getting started, notebooking, etc..
A to Z Home's Cool Unit Study links
We will look deeper into the theme of horses--we did this when my kids were younger and turned it into a lapbook-I will post about lapbooks later on. But, you can easily make notebooks with your unit study as well. For the horse unit, our math included learning about how horses are measured-by hands. We converted this into inches, and then I measured each child. From there, we converted the inches back into hands and made a chart showing how many hands high each child was. We also used the measuring tape to show how high different breeds of horses were. This math was converting inches, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and just basic measuring :) Lots of math right there, huh? For History, we learning the impact of horses on different time periods. What were they used for? When were the first horses ever used? When were the introduced into the U.S.? How does that compare to how they are used today? Another chart was made and placed into our lapbook. For art, we got the book "Leonardo's Horse". It was about Leonardo DiVinci's bronze horse statue he made. Not only did this book give us art direction-it also provided science on bronzing. And, I suppose it also gave us some historical teaching as well :) See how this works-you start in one area and easily branch out.
Now, not all unit studies will provide you with every lesson-not all will give you a math opportunity. Not all will provide you with history. But, if you plan it correctly, most of them will! And, as I said before, as you do more and more of these, they will come very easy to you. And, don't be surprised when your child comes up to you with their own ideas for unit studies!
To help you learn more, I have found some really great links:
Unit Studies
About.com Homeschooling goes right to the unit study page-lots of great info on getting started, notebooking, etc..
A to Z Home's Cool Unit Study links
Monday, February 16, 2009
Homeschool Freebie Of The Day-Great Resource
I have been on this email list for quite a few months now--once a week, they send out a "Heads Up" which alerts you to freebies they will have during the week. You head to their website on the day (or days) you wish to get the Homeschool freebie and follow the link to the download :) I have had atleast one good freebie each week that I have downloaded to use or save for our homeschooling! It's terrific!! Here is a list of this weeks freebies, as well as a link to their website, so you too can sign up! It is worth it to sign up, because they will also send a great freebie to their subscribers-only members of the list (which is free, don't forget) are able to get this bonus freebie :)
Monday, Feb 16th:
Great President's Day Resource Links! (links)
Want to make the most of President's Day? Check out these
Lesson Plans, virtual tours, poetry & the actual papers
of presidents Washington & Lincoln!
Tuesday, Feb 17th:
A Chinese Wonder Book (PDF ebook)
This fascinating collection of Chinese stories and legends,
edited by Maggie Hogan of Bright Ideas Press, is a great
literature-based introduction to the rich history and
culture of China. Includes a read-aloud guide.
Wednesday, Feb 18th:
"Harriet Tubman & the Railway to Freedom" (MP3 audio)
A classic old time radio dramatization of the story of
Harriet Tubman and the activities of
the "underground railroad" during slave years.
Thursday, Feb 19th:
Blessed Is The Man: High School Unit Study Sampler (PDF ebook)
"Blessed is the Man" is a wonderful High School Unit Study
geared to Christian young men, and based on Psalm 1.
Today's resource is this extensive 74 page preview
of the complete four year curriculum - normally $10 on the
publisher's website - but yours to download today!
If you have growing boys in your household, DON'T MISS THIS!
Friday, Feb 20th:
Creatively Simple: How to Make Butter in the Blender (PDF ebook)
Learning to make butter is something everyone should do at least once.
This simple ebook by Penny Raine can teach you how, using items you
probably already have in your kitchen. Detailed instructions and lots of
pictures.
You can get all of these on their respective days at
http://www.homeschoolfreebieoftheday.com/
---------------------------------------
Monday, Feb 16th:
Great President's Day Resource Links! (links)
Want to make the most of President's Day? Check out these
Lesson Plans, virtual tours, poetry & the actual papers
of presidents Washington & Lincoln!
Tuesday, Feb 17th:
A Chinese Wonder Book (PDF ebook)
This fascinating collection of Chinese stories and legends,
edited by Maggie Hogan of Bright Ideas Press, is a great
literature-based introduction to the rich history and
culture of China. Includes a read-aloud guide.
Wednesday, Feb 18th:
"Harriet Tubman & the Railway to Freedom" (MP3 audio)
A classic old time radio dramatization of the story of
Harriet Tubman and the activities of
the "underground railroad" during slave years.
Thursday, Feb 19th:
Blessed Is The Man: High School Unit Study Sampler (PDF ebook)
"Blessed is the Man" is a wonderful High School Unit Study
geared to Christian young men, and based on Psalm 1.
Today's resource is this extensive 74 page preview
of the complete four year curriculum - normally $10 on the
publisher's website - but yours to download today!
If you have growing boys in your household, DON'T MISS THIS!
Friday, Feb 20th:
Creatively Simple: How to Make Butter in the Blender (PDF ebook)
Learning to make butter is something everyone should do at least once.
This simple ebook by Penny Raine can teach you how, using items you
probably already have in your kitchen. Detailed instructions and lots of
pictures.
You can get all of these on their respective days at
http://www.homeschoolfreebieoftheday.com/
---------------------------------------
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Another Great Homeschool Resource!
Donna Young
I love Donna Young's site. I know I can go there and print out the right size graph paper I need for my child who is learning a new math concept and needs to have their rows lined up perfectly :) I know I can go there and find a good schedule for my kids who are doing Apologia sciences. I know I can go there for advice on homeschooling my high schooler! And, all for free, from a veteran HS mom! There are tons of terrific resources from Donna Young...I suggest you check it out-and even if you do not need anything on there today, keep this site in your favorites to refer back to later on...You won't be sorry!
I love Donna Young's site. I know I can go there and print out the right size graph paper I need for my child who is learning a new math concept and needs to have their rows lined up perfectly :) I know I can go there and find a good schedule for my kids who are doing Apologia sciences. I know I can go there for advice on homeschooling my high schooler! And, all for free, from a veteran HS mom! There are tons of terrific resources from Donna Young...I suggest you check it out-and even if you do not need anything on there today, keep this site in your favorites to refer back to later on...You won't be sorry!
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