Meant To Teach

Ever since we have been homeschooling, we've tried different ways of planning out work assignments and task. We've tried binders, planners, and calendars. We've tried weekly schedules.We always come back to our daily homeschool assignment task list. The girls see what is in front of them and what needs to be completed, I put all worksheets under the task list on a clipboard and they sit in front of the computer and get to work. They like checking it off and seeing their daily work in front of them of what needs to be completed. I have even put these in a sheet protector and wrote on it with dry erase markers and had them check it off with dry erase markers when they were younger. Now I just print off daily copies for the week, because as they are getting older their work is more detailed. I thought I would upload our Daily Homeschool Schedule Checklist for you. I personalized it for them. My oldest daughter loves football, so this could obviously be used for a boy and my y...

Our week learning about the Oregon Trail consisted of writing a diary entry as a pioneer, making a checklist of supplies, being creative and making a video about the Oregon Trail, mapping out the trail, labeling wagon parts, and even learning about animals on the trail such as oxen and buffalo. My youngest daughter's spelling list even had to do with words we were reading from the Oregon Trail. I  don't care how old my kids get, they will always enjoy picture books. So I checked these books out for reading during the week.  Who could also forget about the childhood game we all loved to play as kids when computers were still new. I just so happened to have the Oregon Trail game by Mecc. I couldn't believe the CD-Rom still worked with my Windows 10.  Some great resources I used were OregonTrail101.com , Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Westward Ho! Lapbook , and Lapbook Lesson's Oregon Trail Lapbook. We got this cute printable b...

Science Experiment We did this fun experiment to see what air pressure will do when we flip a cup of water onto a large index card and remove our hand. I did the video in slow motion just to enjoy my daughter's facial expression. ;) At the end, she said, "It was like magic!" (you can kind of pick that out in the slow motion. The air pressure holds the water in its place. Enjoy!

Don't you love it when your school curriculum goes along with a real life experience at the same time? We did a chemical reaction experiment with vinegar (our acid) and baking soda (our base) to blow up a balloon. The kids enjoyed watching as it changed into CO2. After the balloon was filled up they quickly realized that their balloon didn't weigh the same as a balloon with air from our mouths. Why? CO2 is heavier than air. The balloon didn't float down to the ground, it came down much faster.  Well, it just so happens that we did some filming this weekend with a smoke machine and to do that we had to have dry ice (which is a solid form of CO2). Why does the smoke go low? Again, CO2 is lighter than air.  Want to try something similar and maybe you don't have a fog machine? It is real simple to do one on your own. Watch this dry ice experiment. 

One of the reasons I love homeschooling is because we can pick up and go anytime we please. When my husband suggested on a whim for us to. take a road trip after visiting family in TN, that is just what we did. I jumped! We took a long way home. So from stopping at his old Army base at Fort Campbell, KY all the way to our las stop of the Hoover Dam in Nevada/AZ - the kids got to see so many things. I find it quite startling how easy it is for them to even find the states on the map after we have gone through them. Our plan is to get a big map off of Etsy to put pins in for the states we have visited.  Here is a list of some of the things we got to see:  Fort Campbell, KY St. Louis, MO Gateway Arch Kansas City Wizard of Oz Museum, KS Kansas City Chiefs Stadium Kansas City Royals Stadium Kansas City Art Museum Denver Broncos Stadium, CO Buford, WY Population of 1 Tree in the Rock, WY Salt Lake City, UT Mormon Temple Salt Lake, UT Las Vegas, NV Hoover Dam, NV  Enjoy some pic...

The girls have learned a real life lesson when it comes to income taxes. This past year, they actually made pay checks from a theater they performed at. So we received their W-2s and filed their taxes. My husband came to me and said, "I have their taxes done and I've prepared a small lesson to teach them." As a homeschool mama, hearing him say that statement was like hearing him say "I love you" for the first time. Some homeschool mamas dream of their husband's involvement like this! He stepped up and taught the girls a little bit about income taxes. He educated them on what taxes were paid for, and why they were taken out of their checks. He instructed them to why they were getting a refund as well. I am so lucky to have a supportive husband when it comes to teaching the girls these real life lessons. The girls signed their forms and are expecting a small refund to be deposited directly to their bank accounts. Yes, the girls have bank acco...

One of the things I love about homeschooling is that we can choose how we learn things. I love being hands on. They learn about a subject and then get to apply it. It's awesome. I've always loved the lapbooks at www.homeschoolshare.com . For a while, we stopped doing them as my oldest daughter is getting, well, older. I was becoming more concerned in her passing an ACT test. That's why I hate teaching to a test and its honestly hard to part ways from it, because you know its coming. I honestly, shouldn't let age factor in these fun projects. She has learned so much this week and it's a real life skill. That is the reason we homeschool. I found myself getting too "text book". My oldest memorizes wonderfully, so she would remember it for the test/review but not retain it. So I put the text books aside and we started doing these lapbooks again. I love how they are a unit, so not only do they learn about the subject, but there is science, history, writing, voc...