Tip #1: Ideas & Where to Get Them

Have you ever asked your student to write a paragraph (or sometimes even a sentence) and gotten a blank stare? If so, hopefully this tip will be of help to you!

Tip #1: Remember that kids don't have as much background knowledge (or as many life experiences) to draw on while writing.

It is NOT cheating to talk through ideas and concepts with your child before they begin to write. In fact, I encourage my writing students to share ideas and brainstorm with their parents. Don't feel bad about sharing necessary or interesting background information with them, either! 

After you've finished brainstorming with them, you may also wish to help them develop an outline for their paragraph. Though outlines seem like a lot of work, practicing the skill now will set up your student for success, both in writing their paragraph AND in their future studies.

Check back tomorrow for my second tip! :)

Coming Up: Three Tips for Raising Competent Communicators

This week, we'll be delving into the topic of Language Arts... Or, as I've chosen to title this mini-series:

"Raising Competent Communicators for Christ!"

I really wish that I could take credit for that awesome alliteration of a title, but I borrowed it from Andrew Pudewa of Institute for Excellence in Writing. This week, I'll be sharing three of the tips I've learned as I've taught this fantastic writing program. These tips will be quick and easy to integrate into your language arts lesson plan, even if you're not looking to purchase a new curriculum. (But, if you are, I totally recommend IEW.)

I'm looking forward to the first tip tomorrow, and I hope you are, too!

Have a great evening!

Weekend Link-Up: Homeschool 31 Dayers

Last week, I shared links to some of my friends who are participating in 31 Days. This week, I'm going to share a few links to other homeschoolers participating in 31 Days. Give their blogs a visit and see what you think! :)

31 Days of Nature Study for Young Naturalists

The Homeschool Marm

31 Days of Homeschool Printables

Royal Baloo

31 Days of Beginning Homeschooling 101

In God's Economy

Oops!

This is just a quick note to let you know that I haven't forgotten about posting today.

It has been one VERY busy day, but I'll be back tomorrow with TWO posts for you!

Have a great evening! :)

Resource Recommendation: God's World News

One of my favorite resources for teaching children about social studies, current events, and geography is God's World News. This monthly magazine is reminiscent of the Weekly Reader magazines that children used to receive in school, but it's written from a Christian perspective and Biblical worldview!

Each issue is filled with all sorts of interesting stories that will attract your students with colorful photographs and fascinating facts. Plus, God's World News has also recently released a new membership program with digital issues of the magazines, a kids' website, and a new iPad app.

God's World News is a great way to teach your children about the world around them - check out a sample issue and see if it is a good fit for your family! :)

3 Fun Ways to Teach the 50 States

Looking for some new activities to spice up your lessons on the 50 states? Try one of these!

1. Apps - Stack the States is my favorite - if you have an iPod, iPhone, or iPad, this activity is for you! This fun and addictive game requires students to answer questions about each state. If they answer correctly, they earn a state to add to their pile. When you stack enough states to cross the finish line - you win! This app costs $0.99, but there is a "lite" version available for free.

2. Food - We all know that yummy and unique snacks are memorable, so here's a list of 50 recipes - one for each state! Some of the recipes are a little "adventurous," but even if you're not brave enough to try them all, this list is a great place to start.

3. State Capital Songs - This one - Wakko's 50 State Capitols - is a popular choice for teaching, with a very catchy tune and a cute cartoon to go with it. However, there are many versions available with a simple internet or YouTube search.

Do you have any fun activities for teaching kids about the United States of America? Feel free to share them in the comments!

Free State Study Resources

First up this week - some fun links to free resources for state studies. You can use these resources for ANY (or if you're feeling brave - every) state!

This website (Homeschool Helper Online) has a great set of foldables for a state lapbook or interactive notebook. Activities include researching state symbols, plants and wildlife, a timeline of state history, and other "fun facts."

Mr. Donn's website contains links to all sorts of teacher resources, kid-safe websites, and educational resources. There's a whole page for each state! You're sure to find plenty of facts to fill your lapbook or notebook by following his recommended links. (P.S. Mr. Donn's image - found above - contains some of Phillip Martin's adorable clip art.)

Apples 4 the Teacher has a page devoted entirely to state studies, too! Their activities include coloring sheets, puzzles (word searches, scrambles, and jumbles) and trivia worksheets. These activities are sure to add some excitement to your state studies.

I hope that you enjoy these neat websites and can put these resources to good use while learning about your own state or preparing for a trip! If you know of any other great resources for state studies, please leave a comment and let us know! :)

On Doing Good & Going Into the World

We've arrived at the beginning of our second week of 31 Days of Joy Filled Learning!

To be honest, I feel like the little engine that could right now. I keep chanting to myself  "I think I can... I think I can..." as I write. There is so much to learn, so much to do, and so much to WRITE! I imagine that there are many of you feeling the same way on your teaching and learning journey. But, let's not get so wrapped up in the list of things "to do" that we grow weary in doing what God has called us to.

Galatians 6:9 (NIV) says it this way:

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

With that being said...

This week, we will be uncovering the topic of social studies - and I couldn't be more excited! 

As Christians, we are called to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (NASB) and that is my motto every time I plan or teach a social studies lesson. After all, how can we teach the gospel to a world that we know nothing about, or have no compassion for?!

We're going to start by uncovering ways that we can learn about our communities, then we'll move into our states, and finally into the world. Along the way, we'll discuss neat object lessons, simple projects, free resources, and I'll even share a few of my "favorite things." (But please, don't confuse me with Oprah!)

I hope that you'll join me on this week long journey "into all the world!"

Off we go!

Encouragement for Your Joy Filled Journey

Good evening, friends! I'm just stopping by with a few quotes to help you start your week!

"Enjoy the little things in life, because one day you may look back and find out that they were the big things."

- Unknown

"Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least."

- Goethe

Remember to make the most of every moment this week. Stop and smell the roses, look for open doors, and always be ready to say "yes" to God's call... even if it means dropping your schedules and agendas. When we look at things with an eternal perspective, the way we view our day-to-day lives completely changes.

One more thought: remember to face each day with a positive attitude. Your attitude is your decision - and you can't live a positive life with a negative attitude.

Have a great week! :)

Weekend Link-Up

Happy Saturday evening, friends!

I wanted to take today to share links to some of my blogging friends who are also participating in #31days this month! I hope that they can be of some encouragement to you in your parenting/teaching journey. Please check their pages out and consider following them! :)

On The Journey With Christ

31 Day Journey of Parenting Tweens & Teens

ChickChat

31 Days of Making Everyday Count

Curly Girl Meets Grace

31 Days of Living it Out (A study of Malachi)

InspirReD LiVinG

31 Days of Food for the Season

Coffee at Lulu's

31 Days of Falling for Fall

Fabulous Friday {Math} Freebies

I don't know about you, but there are few things that I like more than FRIDAYS and FREEBIES!

Since it's Friday, how about we double the fun and look at a couple of (super cute and colorful) math freebies? Each of these printables is available for download at one of my all-time favorite websites, Teachers Pay Teachers.

28 Styles of Hundreds Charts by Jason's Online Classroom

If you're looking to add a little fun to yesterday's hundred chart activities, try these! Jason's Online Classroom has some of the cutest, most stylish products on TpT. There are 28 colorful designs included in this packet. If you're looking to save ink - or go green - you can print them on cardstock and laminate them (or put them in page protectors) and use dry erase markers with them. Write, wipe, and reuse!

Math Alphabet Posters by Lovely Little Leaders

These posters are a great way to create a word rich environment (more on that later!) in your classroom or homeschool space. If you don't have room to hang them on your walls, you can use them to make an alphabet book. The colorful eye-catching borders and adorable illustrations make learning math terms a little less daunting and a lot more fun!

Fall Math Pack by The Moffatt Girls

Last but not least, I couldn't let this post end without a little fall fun. I love the addition and skip counting activities in this little activity pack for Pre-K through 1st grade, and I'm sure your student (or students) will enjoy it, too!

Have a happy weekend! :)

Hundred Charts - Not Just for Kindergarten!

As a parent or teacher (or both!) you may have a hundred chart poster laying around your classroom or house... and if you're not currently using it, I'd encourage you to hang it up and start including it in your lessons! Go ahead and print a couple out (you can find some here, here, and here) to use for games, too!

Here are five easy ideas to get you started:

1) Review skip counting by coloring in the numbers you hit when you count by 2's, 5's, 10's, etc. Discuss the patterns. Then, try coloring in the numbers that you hit when you count by 9's. Ask: "How are the patterns the same? How are they different?"

2) Practice those tricky math facts (and following directions) by making designs. You will need a hundred chart for yourself and for your child. Begin by shading in a simple design (such as a heart or smiley face) on your chart. Then, direct your child to create the same design by giving them clues. (For example, if you said, "please find 12x2," they would shade in 24. Or, you could call "fill in 25+10," and they would need to shade in 35.)

3) Teach your child to read a table and follow directions. Ask your student to place their finger on a given number (i.e. 45), then give them directions to follow a specific "path" (i.e. up 1, left 3, and down 4). Do they end up on the correct answer? When you're done, reverse roles!

4) Get used to counting coins. Round up a bag of pocket change, and allow your student to reach in and pull out a few coins. Show them how to add the coins together, and shade in the total on their chart. (For added fun, you could take turns using different colors for shading and play "BINGO." The first person to get five in a row wins!)

5) Take the sting out of word problems. Make up or find some goofy word problems, and help your child solve them using the hundred chart. (Demonstrate how to "count up" for addition, and "count down" for subtraction.)

Still looking for more ideas? Check out this fun freebie I found at The Classroom Game Nook.

Have fun learning!

P.S. You can find all of the other posts in this series by clicking HERE!

Skip Counting Tips & Tricks

2-4-6-8 what do we appreciate? Skip Counting!

Okay, so maybe that was a little bit cheesy, but recently I've gained a new appreciation for teaching skip counting to my (borrowed) homeschool students. Unfortunately, multiplication and division have never been my strong suit. So, when I realized that Miss M (one of the sweet little girls I work with) was able to multiply despite the fact that she had never formally been taught the concept, I was impressed. Her abilities were all due to the fact that she was excellent at... You guessed it...

Skip counting.

Now, we all know that skip counting isn't a particularly exciting concept to teach or learn, but I've put together a couple of ideas that might make it a little more interesting for you and your student(s). Why don't you try some of them out? You might be impressed at how much you both learn!

1) Listen to some skip counting songs. Have Fun Teaching has a bunch of fun little skip counting "rap" and "dance" songs on their website. They are still pretty "goofy" but would definitely be much more appealing to children than something sung to "The Alphabet Song" or "Twinkle, Twinkle" (though you could certainly use those if you wish). Listen to their songs here, or download them from Amazon or iTunes!

2) Look for some fun games online. Math is Fun has a neat list of timed drills where students are required to click and fill in a box with number skip counting up, and even backwards. In addition to have activities for skip counting by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10, they also have activities for skip counting by 25, 50, and 100.

3) Skip count round robin style. This activity would be fun to play as a family in the car, or while waiting at a restaurant. Agree on a number to count by (for example, 3's) and then go around the family with each member saying one number. If you mess up you're "out!" (It's always fun if Mom or Dad messes up an "easy" one!) See who can make it the furthest.

4) Make it a game! Grab a pair of dice, a deck of cards, or a set of dominoes and get ready for a challenge. Roll both of your dice, and skip count by one of the numbers, starting on the other. (For example, if you roll a 3 and a 7, you could skip count by 3's starting on 7, or skip count by 7's starting on 3.) To play with cards, simply draw two from the deck. If you are playing with dominoes, draw one, and use the number of dots on either end as your two numbers.

5) Get up and MOVE. Have your student count by 1's, but have them clap or jump on a designated number (i.e. multiples of two, five, or ten). For example, if you told them to count by 1's, and jump on multiples of 5, a correct response would be: "1, 2, 3, 4, jump, 6, 7, 8, 9, jump, 11, 12, 13..."

Leave a comment and let me know what you think of these activities, or share an idea of your own! I'm always looking for new tricks to add to my teaching tool-kit!

S-T-R-E-T-C-H & G-R-O-W

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

James 1:2-4 (NIV)

If you are like me, you’ll understand why I picked this verse for the topic of math! If you’re a “math whiz” like my handsome husband, than consider yourself VERY blessed. Unfortunately, math seems to be one of those subjects that students either LOVE or HATE!

Putting one’s feelings aside, though, math is a subject that must be learned! After all, we use math in our everyday lives for just about everything. Math is required for telling time, for cooking, for shopping, and for so much more.

So, what can we do to help our children “persevere” through the challenges of math? This week, we’ll be covering some great ideas to help your children S-T-R-E-T-C-H their brains and G-R-O-W their math skills, whether you are their teacher or helping them do their homework in the evenings. Hopefully you’ll learn a few new tricks, and your children will find math a lot less painful and a little more fun!

Now it’s your turn to chime in in the comments: Are you a “math person” or not?!