Homeschooling-ideas.com Newsletter - Fuel the Fire Issue #90 - March 2017
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Hi!
Welcome to the ninetieth issue of Fuel the Fire.
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Thanks for joining me today, and enjoy this issue!
In this Issue
Marvelous MarchThe Three R's - Resources, Read-Alouds and Recommendations.
Fuel the Fire Ideas.
Marvelous March
Hi everyone, hope you are well and having fun in your homeschooling.
I find March a difficult month! The new years resolutions are wearing off and I am ready for a big dose of inspiration. I hope you get that here from my newsletter. It is a bit of a mixed bag this month - I think my favorite is the Apple Earth idea.
Enjoy - and do let me know if you try any!
Resources, Read-Alouds, and Recommendations
In this section of my newsletter, I want to bring you great recommendations that I think you will enjoy in your homeschooling.Do you have trouble sticking to your homeschool schedule?
Do you keep searching for a way to be more organized and efficient?
I did too for a long time, and then I realized I wasn't working to my strengths.
There is one thing you don't know that will totally transform your homeschooling.
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"Bought this yesterday. Great little book! I've been reading snippets to my sister and I sent a link to the store to a friend. I've always felt guilty for my dead houseplants, my half finished garden and crochet projects, and how I jump around doing any large project. Thanks for helping to shift my perspective AND rev up our homeschool projects at the same time!! Instead of feeling discouraged and apologetic, I'm pretty jazzed with all the ideas buzzing in my mind."  |
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When you understand this secret, you will realize why you will never be able to stick to normal schedules - and know exactly what to do about it in order to get more done, and have more fun in your homeschooling.
If you are struggling to maintain a homeschool schedule then this e-book is for you. It will give you the skills, knowledge and confidence to set out on your own and tweak any plan to make it really work for you.
Fuel the Fire in March
Fun Math Sheets
I am always on the lookout for unusual ways to tackle math!This month I came across some great math activities that I think the children will enjoy.
These seem like the most fun sheets on math I have seen in a long time. I especially liked this one which uses a calculator.
I couldn't figure out if they were targeting any age group as the activities seemed quite mixed - so it is worth browsing around and seeing what your children would enjoy.
Educational Coloring Books
Educational coloring books are a great tool to have in your homeschool toolkit!
Not only do they develop hand and eye coordination, but coloring activates the logic part of the brain, and generates a creative mindset.
My children have always loved coloring books (and still do!). Choosing educational coloring books to go with our homeschool project really made our unit study come alive – and was a fun way to help the children learn.
Need some helping choosing? Here are 50 Ideas for Educational Coloring Books.
Shiva Nata
Sometimes I find a new thing that absolutely captivates me :) This is one of those things!
Shiva Nata is a kind of yoga for the brain. It involves 8 different arm movments performed in a sequence. People who love it say it increases memory and creativity - and I found it fascinatingly mathematical!
Earth Apples
Jenny in Australia emailed me with two great ideas that she thought you might like to try.Firstly, she has come across a great way of looking at the earth by cutting up an apple :
Earth: The Apple Of Our Eye
* Slice an apple into quarters. Set aside 3/4 - they represent the oceans of the world.
* What fraction is left (1/4) Slice this in half and set aside one piece.
* The portion set aside represents the land area that is inhospitable to people: the polar areas, deserts, swamps, high or rocky mountains.
* What fraction is left? (1/8)
* This piece is the land area where people live, but not necessarily grow the food needed for life
* Slice this piece into 4 - set aside 3
* These 3 represent the areas too rocky, too wet, cold, steep or with too poor soil to produce food. They also represent cities, suburban sprawl, highways, shopping centers, schools, parks, factories and other places where we live but don't grow food.
* Carefully peel the piece left over. This layer of skin represents the surface, very thin skin of the earths crust upon which we all depend.
If you would like to try this, there is a lesson plan with more information available here.
Her other neat idea was how she schedules her homeschool. Find out about her A to Z homeschooling schedule.
Make a Dot to Dot
There was a discussion on my local list recently about dot to dot puzzles.I had forgotten about them! Mine loved them when they were smaller and we did harder and harder ones as they got older.
There are lots of dot to dot pages online - but I got to wondering whether you could make your own. And you can.
PictureDots lets you take an online photograph (or picture) and turn it into a dot to dot page.
I thought this would be a super idea to try. You could make a dot to dot related to the project you are working on. Or of your child's favorite cartoon character.
It takes a little work if you need something more than a basic shape - but it works well (unlike one I found online that sent you the picture WITH the lines filled in!).
You may need to read through the tutorial, but a quick hint - to find the url of an online picture : right click on the picture and choose the 'copy image url' option. Sorry Mac people - you are on your own with this one!
PS: The sites given on the homeschooling list also looked pretty good. They are :
Geography Ideas
I have got quite a few ideas for teaching geography on the site.
You can check them out here.
When I posted this page to FB recently, someone suggested putting a map under a clear tablecloth on the table. Great idea!
Easy Paper Mache Fish
Aren't these fish fabulous?
They are one of those really simple paper mache ideas which looks fabulous as ornaments.
Instructions for making these beautiful fish can be found on my friend Sonya's website here.
Scheduling with Work Pockets
This method of organizing my homeschool schedule really worked for us when my children were younger.
Workpockets are a visible, easy to use system. My kids liked that it gave them independence - and they still schedule and manage their own work today.
Read more about workpockets here.
Glow in the Dark Plants!
I just came across a neat site called NurdRage that make some great science videos.Here is one about making a carnation glow in the dark :
Sounds fun? You can see more of their videos on their Youtube channel.
I thought this might be hard to try at home because it needed an ultra violet light. But who knew! They aren't that expensive - you can buy them as flashlights
- (UK Version
here).
Games to Play
- Geoguessr. You are going to like this one :) Guess where you are in the world. You get points for how close you are to the real location.
- Build the Bridge. Fun little game. Build the bridge to drive your locomotive over.
- Gem Grab. Physics type game. Grab the gem and escape out of the tunnels.
Thanks so much for joining me for this issue of "Fuel the Fire".
Be sure to look out for the next issue on 6th April 2014. If you can't wait, then you can find a more regular injection of ideas on:
If you have any comments or suggestions to help me improve this newsletter, I would love to hear from you!
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