Books EVERY Preschooler Should Enjoy

Once a week, I find myself standing in front of many large open bins sifting through the alphabetized picture books at my local library. While the choices seem endless, many of the books crammed between the dusty shelves are not worth my time. As I have mentioned before, NOT ALL BOOKS ARE CREATED EQUAL!

Ancient Egypt Unit Study: Map of Egypt

    

It's been a few weeks since we wrapped up our look at Ancient Egypt. We ended with a few great books and a simple geography project.

Although I had originally planned to make a salt dough map, I decided that a 2-dimensional version would make it easier for my children to label all of the parts clearly. Turns out, recreating a map is a FANTASTIC way to review the landscape of a particular region. Because this project had to be completed in stages in order to let each section of paint dry, my kids got to focus on the geographical details for over a week. I think it is permanently etched in their brains!

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Top 5 Homeschool-Friendly Toys to Occupy Boys

At the risk of sounding politically incorrect, boys are a completely different breed of folk than girls. I think that is no-more obvious to me than during the school day. Now, I'm not saying one gender is better or worse than another, they are just...different. And require different strategies to teach...to train...and even to occupy. 

Simple Alphabet Picture Book

I've mentioned before that my oldest two sons were introduced to the alphabet and letter sounds with the help of a homemade ABC Book complete with letter-themed crafts. I began these books with each of them at different ages--when I saw that they were curious about letters and showing signs of remembering letters that I randomly pointed out to them.

My Best Advice to the NEWBIE Homeschooler {or burned out veteran}

(I realize that I am taking the loooong route to prove my point here.  But, stick with me.  I think, or at least hope. you'll appreciate the final destination.)

"If you were a good wife, you would..." she said flippantly over her shoulder.

I just stood there, stalk still, mouth open, mentally clutching the gaping hole she had bore straight through my heart. If I were a good wife??

ABC Book Printable Pages

Blonde Warrior's 2011-2012 book (left) and Super Boy's 2010-2011 book (right).

Last year, my THEN preschooler was busy each week learning one letter of the alphabet...not necessarily in alphabetical order as I don't believe that is the best way to teach letters phonetically. After learning the letter by pulling fun items out of his mystery alphabet bag, every Tuesday found him creating a simple ABC-themed craft page that emphasized its shape and sound. At the end of the year, I took all of the craft pages to Office Max and had them bound with a cover. (As a side note from a proud momma...he won a blue ribbon at our local county fair last summer for his creative efforts!)

See the Light: Art Class Vol. 1 Review

Photo Credit:  See The Light

You might assume that since I am married to a professional artist (The Hubs is the senior art director at a local advertising agency.) that I possess a teensy bit of artistic knowledge...at least enough to pass along to my children.  But unfortunately, all the artistic prowess of the family lies with him...definitely not me!

Top 5 MATH Manipulatives From Around Your House

It never fails. Come spring, my mailbox is filled with homeschool catalogs from companies all hoping I will plunk down money to purchase this year's must haves in education. While I enjoy perusing the glossy pages of my favorite vendors as much as the next homeschool mom, my wallet just won't allow me to purchase all the items on my wish list. But the truth of the matter is, with a little creativity, a library card, and a quick search through my cupboards, I can find all I need to provide a wonderfully enriching education for my children without spending a dime.

One glance in my family game closet can prove to be quite worthwhile...especially when I am in need of a few simple manipulatives for math review. Here's a list of my TOP 5...

Notebooking with Fact Fans

Notebooking (verb): the act of organizing ideas or facts in written or pictorial form usually within a notebook or journal.

For the homeschooler, this definition goes one step further...Notebooking is a tool to reinforce, review, and organize learned material. It is visual proof of what has been learned and what hasn't. Unlike institutionalized tests, notebooking actually requires cognitive skill, independent reasoning, and creative initiative...not just the ability to memorize trivial facts. You not only have to know those facts, but you also have to be able to reconstruct them in your own words.

Be My Valentine Game {Printable}

With Valentine's Day only a couple of weeks away, I've already begun my tentative holiday plans. A MUST on the agenda will be the Be My Valentine Game that I introduced to the kids on Valentine's Day 2012.

The 5 Week Love Language Challenge

Photo by SJLife Photography

It was clear at "I do" that he's GIFTS and QUALITY TIME. I, on the other hand, have always been more of an ACTS OF SERVICE and WORDS OF AFFIRMATION kinda girl...

During the first few months of our marriage...on more than one occasion, I'm afraid...it was glaringly obvious that the Hubs and I were saying "I love you" but in completely foreign languages. To make matters worse, he and I had come from two very different views of "forever." EVERY marriage in his closest circles of influence was happily in tact, while EVERY marriage I had ever known had crumbled or was on its "take two" or "three."