Gardens: A Harvest of Learning No Matter the Season

Gardens—spring, summer, or fall—harvest plentiful learning activities. Seems like every time we turn around we are enjoying another experience involving fruits and veggies. Here's a sampling of possibilities, and likely your learners will discover others. Enjoy the harvest no matter what the season.

Math

• Estimate the weight of a watermelon. Weigh on a bathroom scale. Figure out the price per paid per pound.

• Purchase a five pound bag of potatoes. Compare the quantity with a five pound bag of onions. Why the difference in quantity per pound? Younger children can weigh potatoes and arrange from lightest to heaviest.

• Buy a basket full of veggies. Sort according to what part of the plant is eaten: stem, leaf, seed, root, flower. Eat vegetables for snack or create a yummy soup.

Language Arts

• Read Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert. Make veggie soup for dinner.

• Read the Farm Alphabet Book by Jane Miller. Make your own fruits and veggies alphabet book.

• Identify the beginning consonant sounds of each vegetable purchased.

• Read Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert.

• Read Stone Soup by Marcia Brown (a traditional tale).

• Read Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens (a trickster tale).

• Read The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle.

Spanish

• Learn the Spanish words for common fruits and vegetables

Social Studies

• Tour the produce section of the grocery store.

• Visit a working farm, garden store, orchard, local U-pick or greenhouse.

Science

• Plant a garden.

• Build a grow box and sow the family’s favorite seeds.

• Spout seeds. Discuss vocabulary: seeds, seedlings, cuttings, sprout, germinate.

• Read The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons

• Read Green Beans, Potatoes, and Even Tomatoes by Brian Cleary

• Read One Bean by Anne Rockwell.

• Sprout an avocado seed.

• Grow or purchase a pie pumpkin. Open. Clean. Bake. Puree pumpkin and make bread.

• Read The Life Cycle of a Bean by Linda Tagliaferro.

• Read Foods from Farms by Nancy Dickmann.

• Read Plants on a Farm by Nancy Dickmann.

• Read Farming by Gail Gibbons. Discuss farming around the world.

• Read From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons.

• Read Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert.

• Read The Victory Garden Vegetable Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta.

Arts

• Make prints using tempera paints and fruits and veggies (potato, cabbage, celery, corn, and oranges)

• Read Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Bjork.

• Make a seed collage.

• Sing Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow. Act out the song with motions.

• Read How Are You Peeling? by Joost Effers and Saxton Freymann. Discuss the illustrations. Children may also enjoy Fast Food by the same authors.

Movement

• Play Hot Potato (hand-eye coordination)

The Collection-Learning Connection

Collections begin with curiosity, an interest in something. Questions. Wonder. Excitement.

Children, being natural scientists, are inquisitive, intrigued by discovery, inviting more questions. In the process, they often begin collecting objects that excite them, making comparisons and continuing experiments, learning always—counting, sorting, comparing, and drawing conclusions based on the discoveries made with their collections. Providing space for their collections and discovery is essential to their growth and development while also providing them with a sense of responsibility for their “belongings”.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been collecting leaves and rocks; large and small, different hues, unique characteristics. Providing bins for the collections kept items organized and “ready” for exploring and continued discovery. Along the way, I pulled a few field guides from our library shelves, accessible for identification and deeper learning. Our science discovery area grew as a result, leading to more questions. Curiosity, an interest in something, was the catalyst.

What interests your children? The petal patterns in flowers. Shapes of shells. Maybe which car in the bin moves faster down the plywood ramp. Step back and ponder the learning taking place. It matters and it will be remembered.

Common collection items

Pinecones

Marbles

Toy cars

Legos

Rocks

Acorns

Leaves

Shells

Insects

Pennies

Collections can be used as catalysts to studies in other content area.

Collections to science discovery centers

Our science discovery center (a small table near a window sill where light can shower any growing seeds and plants) expands every time a collection begins. The center is simple, yet offers great space for curiosity to grow. Adding our Magiscope and a magnifying glass foster that growth. Intentional and real.

If you are wondering about the nitty-gritty of setting up a science center, Cheryl discusses several ideas in her book Cultivating Curiosity.

What interests are growing in your children?

A collection of stamps given by a grandparent? A pile of rocks? A selection of leaves from a recent walk?

Oh, the possibilities! They will be engaged and learning.

Fast Parenting? Yes, Please!

There is nothing quick about parenting; growing child to adulthood. Though we often try or prefer to make parenting instantaneous through quick sound bites instead of face-to-face conversation and interaction, what’s instantly gratifying isn’t necessarily the most productive. For me, there were days when I wanted fast answers with practical tips and positive results, right now! They would have been highly convenient, but not necessarily helpful to our long-term vision for our family.

I admit, fast, immediate, no-fail solutions resonate with me, especially on full days with lots of commitments and needs. Hence, there were days when I searched and searched, scrolled Pinterest boards and read blogs. Surely someone had encountered my debacle and WON?

• The day dear daughter cut off all her bangs to the root and tried to tape them back on, only to find it would take months and months to grow out. I had no hair tonic to promote growth, though I wish I had. Life lessons noted.

• The morning 30 pounds of laundry powder poured atop three loads of dirty laundry sapped my energy and made me wonder if the entire day would offer similar treats.

• The day dear child asked questions about how to prepare for marriage and I knew the answer would be more than a pat answer or five-minute conversation. Instead, the conversations were many, over years, and eventually led to a beautiful marriage. Definitely not a one-and-done parenting recipe. Instead, the conversations were unique to the situation, nothing I could have borrowed from anyone else. I’m thankful for the times we sat and listened. It mattered.

• The evening, when after months of waiting and visiting, great-grandma passed away and there were a slew of questions. I didn't have the immediate answers we all would have prefered. Conversations and hugs healed hearts as together we remembered Grammy’s impact on our lives; years of togetherness and with-ness.

• The morning our van started on fire in the driveway and our children were concerned we wouldn't have a big enough vehicle to transport us all. I didn't have an immediate answer or a delivery service to provide another vehicle. The process of waiting grew our faith and provided just what we needed.

Fast forward some years with now grown adult children. It has become apparent that the best solutions had no easy answers. There are no quick, fast shortcuts in parenting. My adult children didn't become adults overnight (though at times I wonder where the years went) and the path, the journey, was a process. Their journey to adulthood and my adventure as a mom wasn't picked up at a drive-thru window.

The journey was an aged, slow-cooked process. 

Paint a Fall Tree Using Pointillism

Want to beat afternoon boredom, toss up something different in a slow moving week, or calm things down when the schedule has run extra fast?

George Seurat became known as the Father of Pointillism. This style—small dots placed close together to allow the visual blending of color—was popular in the late 1800s after the Impressionist era. Some of the most famous masterpieces created with this style were

Georges Seurat’s Alfalfa

Henri Martin’s Green Valley with a Stream

Paul Signac’s Le Clippe

Introduction to art media and techniques can ignite the natural creativity of young learners and keep ingeniousness alive in olders. This fall painting activity delighted our learners, Kindergarten to late elementary. Each young artist employed her unique thinking to the process to create a different work of art. Your children can, too!

Prepare.

Look at masterpieces using this distinctive style. Offer children an appreciation for how artists used this style to create very distinctive art. Point out similarities and differences in color tones and values, light, and line. Consider what elements differentiate the works.

Gather materials.

• 8 x 12 white construction paper

• brown construction paper (optional)

• tempera paints—particularly red, orange, yellow and brown

• paint palette or plastic lid/tray or egg carton (makes for easier clean up)

• cotton swabs

You’re ready!

• Look at pictures of fall leaves or landscapes of fall trees. This is especially helpful for children who live in places where leaves don’t change colors.

• Talk about fall colors. Place small amounts of said tempera paints in a palette. Place a cotton swab in each puddle of paint.

• Try mixing paints to create new fall colors—like red and yellow to make orange or red and orange to make red-orange.

• Give each child a piece of white paper.

• Make a tree trunk. Some children may choose to paint a trunk, others may want to cut one out of brown construction paper or use small torn pieces of brown paper to make create a torn paper collage look. This is part of what will make each painting unique.

• Add the fall leaves!

Give pointillism a try!

Little learners LOVE this activity'; dabbing dots while strengthening and refining small motor skills. Bigger kiddos will enjoy expressing their unique ideas.

Keep learning alive and moving forward.

Extend this art activity into other content areas.

Science

• If leaves are changing color in your area, take a walk and enjoy the beauty.

• Collect fallen leaves (and a few acorns). Bring them home and observe under a magnifying glass or Magiscope.

• Point out the midrib, margin, and veins.

• Notice the similarities and differences in the leaf shape and type.

• Use a field guide or online resource to identify.

• Make a leaf collection book or leaf nature journal (this is art, too!)

• Discuss how cooler temperatures and shorter days affect the leaves food making process, changing the leaves color. Read Why Leaves Change Color by Betsy Maestro.

• Read (this is language arts, too!)

  Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

  We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger

Math

• Sort leaves by type or color.

• Count leaves.

• Use leaves to make sets of specific numbers—sets of three, sets of five.

• Add sets of leaves.

• Make math statements—three oak and two maple make five leaves in total.

More Art

• Read Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert and make leaf people with the leaves collected.

How to Teach Money Concepts

We don’t need a curriculum for everything. Some skills are learned naturally, organically. In fact, sometimes the learning happens amid our days and we miss it.

Some concepts are best taught and retained from experience with real-life objects.

Money is one of those topics.

The best way to understand money is to use it—take if off the page, get your hands on it, and practice the skills.

For children, preschool through elementary, learning money concepts will look like

Coin recognition - My husband’s spare change hangs out on the counter or in the console of the car. Most of our children have found it, eventually, inquiring, “May I have this?” There’s interest and engagement—a perfect combination for retention. A simple explanation—”This is a penny. This is a dime. This is a nickel. This is a quarter.”— while placing the coin in the child’s hand will effectively teach coin identification. Next time the coins are laying around, review the concept. If the child has a piggy bank or other collection container, empty the contents, sort the coins, and review the coin names. Coin recognition can be that simple, and it will stick.

Coin value - Maybe your child already knows the coin names and is ready to associate values— “A penny is one cent. This is a dime, it’s worth ten pennies. It’s ten cents.” This concept will take some time and practice to master, but again, with real coins and a piggy bank, there’s an undercurrent of interest.

Coin addition - Once the child recognizes the coin and it’s value, there’s almost an automatic need to be able to “find out home much I have”. Here begins the understanding of adding money—combining two groups. To move with the interest, place two or three coins in your learner’s hand. Add one from your hand and add the total of the two coins. Write the corresponding addition equation on a piece of paper so the child can associate the actual coins, their value, and the symbols of the equation. Start with pennies for the youngest learners and move to greater values, hence addition of two digits.

Calculated change - Once the concept of coin addition has been mastered, it’s time to tackle the concept of change—what will be given back after a purchase. The difference. We found this concept was easy to learn while playing store or working with oral problems. For example, “I have three quarters and want to buy this pencil for $0.65. What change will I receive back from the cashier?” Of course, the youngest learners will be best served using pennies and then moving to larger amounts.

Saving and Spending Real-Life Practice

Aside from playing store and counting money in a piggy bank, we give a few coins (maybe two dimes, a quarter, four nickels) every once and awhile, random amounts--could be a quarter or two dimes, whatever. We tell the child the money is his or hers and they can do with it what they choose. They quickly figure out if they save it, it adds up. The process naturally brings questions, everything from savings to buying houses to investing. Real money is a motivator. We do this for an entire school year because the lessons are so valuable. They are real world lessons of being faithful with little and being given much. The process also gives us the ability to see which of your children have a tendency to spend, give and save. It’s a window into their minds and hearts. They’ve all been different.

Playing Games

Games have offered opportunity to learn and practice money skills with larger amounts. Among the favorites are

• Allowance

• Monopoly

• Monopoly Jr.

• Life

This is just a sampling of ways real money aids in cementing important math skills and financial concepts, beginning with the youngest learners.

Those coins on your counter or in your console? Wonder and learning await. In fact, learning is likely happening and it’s waiting to be fostered.

Keep learning intentional and real and it will be remembered.

15 Ways to Make Letter and Numeral Writing Fun

What if a little learner—a preschooler or Kindergartener—doesn’t want to use a paper and pencil to write?

Bring on the unique and intriguing.

• Writing in sand or mud with a stick

• Forming letters and numerals in the sand with a small car (we call them letter tracks—smooth and “write” another track)

• Writing in shaving cream applied to a tile wall or shower door

• Using a bucket of water and paintbrush to paint water letters on a garage door or outdoor wall

• Writing with sidewalk chalk on the driveway or sidewalk

• Forming letters and numerals with objects (acorns, shells, and rocks for the win!)

• Finger painting

• Making letters or numerals with a dauber bottle inker (Bingo blotter bottle)

• Shaping letters or numerals with yarn

• Forming playdough letters with rolled “snakes”

• Painting tempera or watercolor letters with a cotton swab

• Forming letters and numbers with spaghetti noodles

• Writing on a dry erase board

• Making homemade soft pretzel letters or numerals

• Using people to make letters (laying on a floor)

Keep minds curious and they will ingeniously think of other ideas, ideas you and I would never imagine.

When Learning Doesn't Have a Paper Trail

Learning is often measured in paper. Thirty-problem speed drills. Handwriting practice sheets. Chapter tests. Lab reports. Paragraph summaries. In and of themselves, these items aren't terrible or wrong. They have their place. However, valuable learning also takes place when there are no visible, tangible traces, especially when teaching young children.

Last spring, we had one of those weeks where significant educational progress was made but not all our activities could not be measured in paper. Our experiences were stellar and our children talked about them with joy and amazing recall. They were life-impacting and applicable. Learning took place, but we didn't have sheets and sheets of paper to prove our efforts. Here’s a glimpse into some of the learning fun we had during the course of the week.

• reviewed number recognition, numbers 1-75, while playing BINGO with great-grandma

• sorted, counted, and rolled coins (collected in the family change jar for our anticipated family night out)

• played the Pizza Fraction Fun game several times and then the younger children cared the pieces off to play “restaurant”

• weighed potatoes and onions on a kitchen scale and compared the weights

• made figures with tangrams (geometry)

• played Scrabble with older learners for spelling

• wrote letters (olders wrote their spelling words) on the driveway with sidewalk chalk

• retold a story we heard someone else tell and then discussed how point of view and experiences determine potential bias

• read three picture books: Blueberries for Sal, Caps for Sale, and The Raft

• read a recipe, followed directions, and measured ingredients

• listened to Jim Weiss stories on CD

• spelled three- and four-letter short vowel words on a whiteboard

• listened to The Tale of Two Cities and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (audio books enjoyed by older learners)

• reviewed state abbreviations while driving to grandma's house

• watched bees pollinate flowers

• assembled a floor puzzle of the United States

• listened to me read Meet the Pilgrim Fathers by Elizabeth Payne to the youngest learners

• learned body systems and their functions while listening to Lyrical life Science: Human Body

• discussed the nutritional content of three types of cereal by comparing labels; discussion of fats, sugar, and minerals

• cared for the neighbor's dogs and evenly distributed the money earned with the children who participated

Children were engaged. Learning occurred. There was not a traditional paper trail for these activities. Much of the evidence resided in the minds of my children.

How did we document our learning?

We kept a resource list of books we read, recorded the activities on our log, and took pictures of the whiteboard, tangram creations, games, and completed puzzle.

What I loved most about our week was that we learned together. We were relaxed and enjoyed our conversations. As I read, the children asked questions and we added to our vocabulary. When we needed to be outside, we went. There was joy.

Our learning was

Intentional. Real. and Relational.

And, it mattered.

How to Create Your Own Timeline

I remember one season of our home education journey when everyone—preschool to high school—studied American History. I intentionally planned for the year, knowing our days with five learners our would be full and there would be lots of excitement buzzing about the home. Having everyone study American history on his or her level helped simplify our home learning.

“Timelines help children place people and events in history. They are a concrete visual of often abstract concepts. ”

In one particular part of that year, we were all digging into the American Revolution. Some enjoyed learning about George Washington while others wanted to act out the Boston Tea Party. The resulting conversations became engaging as siblings shared what was being read in biographies, heard on Liberty Kids, or gained from audio materials like Drive Through History. In addition, every learner had a different angle or perspective on the men, women, and events of the time. To tie everyone’s study together, we created a family timeline; an activity that could involve everyone.

“We’ve made several timelines over our 26 years of home education. Every one was unique, every one different based on our study of the time. ”

Our hallway timeline. When I want our timeline to be accessible, in sight and readily available at any given time—like a world map or globe—it extends the length of our hallway at a child’s eye level. To create this timeline, I pulled a stack of sentence strips from my supplies. Had I not had them leftover from a sentence-building exercise, I would have used four-inch strips of card stock or poster board. I taped the strips down one side of the hall and up the other; end-to-end the length of the hallway. Once hung, I used a permanent marker to write dates in fifty year increments, beginning with 1200 (1200, 1250, 1300, 1350 and so on). If you choose to this DIY project, you can easily adjust the dates for the length of your hallway, with the extent of your study in mind.

With several children adding to the timeline, there’s been times when all eyes were on the hall wall, times when siblings were interested in what others were placing on the wall. Our children are curious about the people or events they were studying but also interested in what they siblings were learning. Questions were asked. Siblings answered. Sometimes they enlisted my help. I love watching the process, observing their thinking and problem solving, their summations of what had been learned.

Our file folder timeline. One year I wasn’t quite ready to add tape to the freshly painted hall wall. I had to come up with another option. An abundance of file folders from cleaning out our old metal file cabinets provided us with instant cardstock. I cut the folders in half and glued them together so they would folded, accordian-style. Once folded, the timeline could be stored on a bookshelf. When a learner wanted to add a picture, he or she pulled out the timeline. This version saved my walls, but it didn’t create the same buzz as having the timeline out, front and center, to stop in front of and ponder.

Adding Pictures

The fun part of creating a timeline is adding the pictures. Children love to cut and paste. For the pictures, we use the index of old textbooks (discarded by my history teaching hubby) to locate needed pictures. For example, if a learner is searching for a picture of Alexander Graham Bell, I teach (or review with) him or her to use the index, which requires alphabetization (as study skill). We head to the “B’s” and the move to the “BE” words, and so on. Once we locate the page where Alexander Graham Bell is featured, we cut out any pictures. We follow the same procedure for any person or event studied. Cut out pictures are added to the timeline. If we can’t find a picture, we find a picture on the internet and print it.

Learning is fueled by excitement and engagement. Our timelines add to the engagement, especially the hallway timeline. And, I love that it was accessible. Anytime children walk down the hallway, they’re re-engaged and make observations (“Wow, so many things happened in 1776!”). Timelines offer constant review and consistent reinforcement. And, in those seasons when I have had to repaint the hallway, I smiled as I remembered the discussions which had taken place in that space. We learned history, but we also learned together.

Every. Moment. Matters.

American Revolution Literature-Based Study (Preschool through High School)

“Mom, why are there faces on our money?”

Children are eager to learn about people, the individuals they hear us talk about, people who made a difference— presidents, leaders, scientists. This is especially true when children begin to understand the choices and even the sacrifices and hard work others made for the sake of others.

One of our favorite periods of history to study is the American Revolution. Thankfully, there is an abundance of resources available and there are so many aspects of the era to be investigated. For a family like us with multiple levels of development and learning, we find this era offers a little bit of everything for everyone. Children can easily detour and dig into an area of independent study (which typically ignites interest in a sibling or becomes a topic of conversation at the dinner table). As we’ve studied this time in our nation’s history several times over our twenty-six year learning journey, we definitely discovered we have some favorite resources.

I am sure as you dig into the American Revolution, you will discover you have favorites, too.

George Washington

Adler, David A., A Picture Book of George Washington (K-early elementary)

Barton, David, Bulletproof George Washington (high school)

d'Aulaire, Ingri, George Washington (elementary)

Davidson, Margaret, The Adventures of George Washington (elementary-middle school)

Edwards, Roberta, Who Was George Washington (Who is series) (elementary-middle school)

Graff, Stewart, George Washington: Father of Freedom (Discovery biography) (K- early elementary)

Harness, Cheryl, George Washington (elementary)

Heilbroner, Joan, Meet George Washington (Step-Up Books series reprinted in paperback with similar text as a Landmark book) (K-early elementary)

Stevenson, Augusta, George Washington: Young Leader (Childhood of Famous Americans) (K- elementary)

Martha Washington

Anderson, LaVere, Martha Washington: First Lady of the Land (Discovery biography) (K- early elementary)

Wagoner, Jean Brown, Martha Washington: America’s First Lady (Childhood of Famous Americans) (K-elementary)

Betsy Ross

Buckley, James, Who Was Betsy Ross? (Who Is Series) (elementary-middle school)

Wallner, Alexandra, Betsy Ross (K- elementary)

Weil, Ann, Betsy Ross: Designer of our Flag (Childhood of Famous Americans) (K- elementary)

Thomas Jefferson

Colver, Anne and Polly Anne Graff, Thomas Jefferson: Author of Independence (Discovery biography) (K- elementary)

Monsell, Helen Albee, Thomas Jefferson: Third President of the United States (Childhood of Famous Americans) (K- elementary)

Paul Revere

Adler, David A., A Picture Book of Paul Revere (K- elementary)

Fritz, Jean, And Then What Happened, Paul Revere (elementary)

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, Paul Revere's Ride (illustrated by Ted Rand) (elementary-middle school)

Stevenson, Augusta, Paul Revere: Boston Patriot (Childhood of Famous Americans) (K- elementary)

Benjamin Franklin

Davidson, Margaret, The Story of Benjamin Franklin (elementary-middle school)

Franklin, Benjamin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (high school)

Graves, Charles P., Ben Franklin: Man of Ideas (K- elementary)

Hareness, Cheryl, The Remarkable Benjamin Franklin (K- elementary)

Lawson, Robert, Ben and Me (great read aloud) (elementary-middle school)

Scarf, Maggi, Meet Benjamin Franklin Washington (Step-Up Books) (K- early elementary)

Stevenson, Augusta, Benjamin Franklin: Young Printer (Childhood of Famous Americans) (K- elementary)

John Adams

Adler, David A., The Picture Book of John and Abigail Adams (K- elementary)

McCullough, David, John Adams (high school)

Abigail Adams

Peterson, Helen Stone, Abigail Adams: Dear Partner (K- elementary)

Sam Adams

Adler, David A., The Picture Book of Sam Adams (K-elementary)

Fritz, Jean, Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams? (elementary-middle school)

The American Revolution

Dalgliesh, Alice, The 4th of July (K- elementary)

Edmunds, Walter, The Matchlock Gun (read aloud)

Forbes, Esther, Johnny Tremain (read aloud or middle school)

Gregory, Kristianna, Cannons at Dawn (Dear America series) (upper elementary-middle school)

Harris, Michael, What is the Declaration of Independence (Who Is series) (elementary-middle school)

Latham, Jean Lee, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (family read-aloud or middle school independent read)

Lossing, Benson John, Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of the Independence (high school biographical compilation)

McCullough, David, 1776 (high school)

McGovern, Ann, If You Lived In Colonial Times (K- elementary)

Maestro, Betsy and Giulio, A More Perfect Union (K-elementary)

Moore, Kay, If You Lived At the Time of the American Revolution (K- early elementary)

Penner, Lucille, Liberty! How the Revolutionary War Began (elementary-middle school)

Rockliff, Mara, Gingerbread for Liberty: How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution (K- elementary)

Spier, Peter, The Star-Spangled Banner (K-elementary)

Activities

• We have used various activities from History Pockets: Colonial America and History Pockets: American Revolution by Evan-Moor.

• Dioramas make great culminating projects. Dioramas scenes created in a shoe box or cardboard box, perhaps Washington crossing the Delaware, Valley Forge, the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

• We locate and identify the thirteen colonies on our US map or print a printable map found online and label the thirteen colonies: Virginia, New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. Say the colonies while writing the names or pointing to the words. Notice the names of states are proper nouns and are capitalized.

• In addition to the thirteen colonies, consider locating significant bodies of water (rivers and lakes) or cities were events took place (Boston, Philadelphia, Trenton, and so on). Printable maps are great for this activity though this can also be done on a United States map orally together as a family.

• My children have loved making colonial crafts like quilting, candle making, weaving, and leather work.

• We read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (Ted Rand’s version listed above). This poem has been recited for generations and is narrative fiction. Though based on a historic event, not all the details penned in the poem occurred as they actually happened. Compare the details in the poem with what was learned while researching. The Paul Revere House offers one account on its website https://www.paulreverehouse.org/the-real-story/. In addition, Old North Church is a National Park. Their website is https://tinyurl.com/y7havl6b.

• In Paul Revere’s Ride, lanterns lit the way for night travelers and warned the citizens of impending danger. Tin lanterns were crafted by tinsmiths. We’ve enjoyed making tin lanterns. To do so, we wash an empty tin can and fill with water and freeze. Once frozen solid, we place the can on a folded towel and lay atop a hard surface. This keeps the can from rolling while hammering. Then, we carefully, with supervision, use a hammer and nail to punch holes in the can, refreezing as needed. When the design is complete,we thaw the can and empty and water. Sometimes, we add a wire handle and a battery-operated votive to light the lantern.

• Field trips are always a favorite. For this period of history, consider history museum, horse stables, blacksmith or quilt shops.

• We’ve enjoyed making quill pens and writing with homemade berry ink.

• Create an American Revolutionary timeline.

• Our children have loved watching episodes of Liberty Kids.

• We read Gingerbread for Liberty: How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution by Mara Rockliff, read the back matter at the end, and made gingerbread. For our littles, we made gingerbread playdough. This recipe (minus the pumpkin spice) has been my favorite for over thirty years!

  Gather
  2 cups flour
  1 cup salt
  1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  2 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar (cream of tartar acts as a preservative)
  2 cups cold water
  Food coloring

  1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon

  Wooden cutting board

  Airtight plastic bag or container

  1. In a medium saucepan, mix together the flour, salt, vegetable oil, cream of tartar, and water. Stir well. Add 5 to 6 drops of food coloring and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon.
  2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the dough is the consistency of mashed potatoes; about 5 minutes.

  3. Spoon onto a wooden cutting board or wax paper covered counter top.

  4. Knead until smooth.

  5. Store play dough in an airtight plastic zipper bag or container up to 6 months.

  Knead, roll and pat to build fine motor skills. Make a long rope and form into the letter G. Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter to make pretend gingerbread delights.

30 Ways to Celebrate Your Homeschooling Days Together

School is about to start.

Some families will be shifting educational gears and bring learning home. In that transition, children may be pondering (and even disappointed by) the special days they will miss; days or events they were looking forward to or older sibling had a chance to experience. Navigating this transition can be difficult; however, there are ways to celebrate the new and different—creating new favorites which may become annual traditions. Though our family has been a homeschooling family for over 26 years, we have looked for ways to make our days together, special, something to anticipate and look forward to. Homeschoolers do not have to miss out on celebrations—the festivities may just look different.

Special days can still be special and memories can still be made.

Consider

• purchasing new school supplies together; each child choosing his or her colors for notebooks or special pencils

• purchasing new glue bottles

• restocking art supplies—or creating a new art space—and allow each child to choose a new supply or medium he or she would like to experience

• choosing a new backpack or lunch box if attending a co-op

• purchasing new sneakers or outfits for the year

• taking pictures throughout the year of special events, friends, milestones, adventures, and memories to make a yearbook at the end of the year

• creating a special workspace

• taking a mid-day nature scavenger hunt

• having a game day (playing educational games listed here)

• allowing each child to purchase some new picture or non-fiction books of interest

• renewing your family library card and go to lunch afterwards

• taking back-to-school, first day pictures and do the same on the last day

• celebrating the 100th day of school-at-home (schools celebrate the 100th day of school) which requires counting the days beginning with the first—great for counting and calendar skills

• planning a field trip once a week or twice a month

• enjoying a picnic lunch out under a tree or by a lake

• surprising a child with an individual date with mom to do math at Chik Fil A (one of our favs)

• planning a family get-away after the first eight week, first semester, or at the end of the year

• doing science experiments with another family

• taking learning outside for the day (everything is outside—we love doing this the first sign of cooler weather)

• baking a cake for Dad just-because-we-can day

• allowing your child to make the schedule for the day

• preparing a special meal day—all purple meal, circle meal, square snacks, for example

• watching a family movie once a week

• inviting another family (or two) to do a park day or field trip

• participating in Pizza Hut Book-It

• visiting a nature walk area or preserve (picnic lunches are amazing in these venues—don’t forget a small brown back to collect treasures)

• making a treat-a-week; for example, Wednesday is baking day

• taking grandma to lunch or invite her over for a tea (good for everyone involved!)

• making mailboxes for each family member so that other members can send fun or encouraging messages or leave a small treat (another of our favorites, especially at Valentine’s)

• working with grandpa in his shop

• visiting a local U-pick farm

• declaring a clay day

Kindergarten at Home: What Little Learners Need

The Kindergarten year lays the educational foundation for life and learning.

In fact, it is during the Kindergarten year that little learners get their “first taste” of “school”. What they think about “school” and who they are as a learner is developed from their experiences in this first year. That’s weighty to me, but also freeing—so you are not alone if that hits you hard. Keep reading, there’s help and freedom in this decision.

There’s freedom in choosing what’s best for your family from the buffet of choices.

Kindergarteners  master foundational skills which serve as a knowledge base for the years and skills to come. Included in that foundation are the attitudes toward learning.  If the days and the education in those days are rushed—pushed—learning becomes burdensome, uninteresting, and often irrelevant. When learning flows naturally from that which is real and relational—interesting and personal—joy and wonder fuel their unending curiosity.

A love of learning is nurtured and begins with the items and people little learners love most.

I reminisce over the years we’ve spent with our Kinders. There’s been eight of them. I also taught K4s prior to coming home with my own. For my first-hand experience, I know these years can be fun, soul-nurturing, and satisfying. Here’s a peek into how we’ve done Kindergarten.

Nurture Curiosity. We purpose to give our children the gifts of investigation, experimentation, and discovery. In our home, Kindergarten science is hands-on. At different points during the year we

• observe caterpillars change to butterflies (you can order them online or plant a small portion of milkweed in a bed outside your home.

• purchase an ant farm (again online)

• dig holes outside and allow use of water, PVC pipe, small rocks, and anything needed to build dams, lakes, and pretend sinkholes

• plant seeds and grow beans

• watch bird behavior—building nests, flight patterns, listen and identify bird calls

• go hang out by the lake to feed ducks and fish, catch and release minnows

• go to the beach and find treasures and critters,collect and identify shells

• find tadpoles and watch them change to frogs

• build forts

• play in puddles

• observe different spider webs

• use magnifying glasses and our Magiscope

We check out books from the library on whatever topics we’re learning about (this doesn’t stop at Kindergarten). We also purchase resources and build our home library. The books fuel the curiosity. In our home, Kindergarten science is relaxed, real, engaging, and open-ended—meaning we dig in as deep as we want into any interest. In the end, science concepts well beyond Kindergarten are learned and retained. This has served all abilities well—learning challenged to gifted—and works well when teaching multiple-age children.

Nurture the Mind. This is closely related to and interweaves with nurturing curiosity. One of the reasons we decided to homeschool centered around how individual I knew learning could be and how that individualization could foster thinking, not matter what the age or ability of the child. Nurturing the mind can happen while playing (PLAY is super important in the early years), while engaged in conversation (littles NEED us to listen to their ideas and feelings), or while pondering open-ended questions (questions which cannot be answered with yes or no). Little learners are natural questioners. They wonder what will happen next, how things happen, and when things will happen. It is in this inquisitiveness that they learn how life and people work, interact, and interrelate. Questioning is one of the most important life skills parents can foster and nurture. Mike and I foster inquisitiveness with commentaries and questions which invite our children to do the same. 

• I wonder how the (insert animal) stays warm.

• What comes next in the sequence?  

• I wonder if (insert item) will work better with this or that.

• What do you think will happen next?

• I wonder where that trail leads.

• Let's watch the (insert animal). I wonder what it will do next. 

• How long do you think it will take to ...?

Nurture Physical Development. The park was our friend. Children need to run, skip, pump swings, climb rock walls. They need to move. Their bodies are still growing and developing essential muscle ability. Because the body develops from the center to the limb, a strong core is vital. I reminded myself when my children wanted to learn to spell their names, that core development influenced their ability to do so.

Part of why we decided to homeschool rested on the knowledge that I could give my children whatever they needed concept wise and not rob them of time to play. We use a solid math curriculum and we keep moving forward, meaning we sometimes need the first grade level. We don’t spend more than 20 mins at the table at at a time and provide interesting "math tools" to investigate, experiment with, and learn to use.

• kitchen scale

• tape measure

• ruler

• yardstick

• outside thermometer

• measuring cups and spoons

• a funnel

• bathroom scale (weights more than people, smile!)

• shape stencils

• protractors

In addition, the child’s piggy bank provides a great meaningful (children want to know how much money they have) resource to learn coin recognition; counting by ones, fives, and tens; and adding. We add engaging math-based picture books where we are able.

Outside of math, we

Read aloud. Reading aloud has been one of the most rewarding activities we've done in our more than years of teaching and parenting littles—picture books, biographies, non-fiction wonders. Each title opens opportunities for setting a template for the English language, building vocabulary, bolstering listening skills, understanding parts of a story, retelling events, the list goes on. Interestingly, there have been times when our little learners are seemingly off in their own world—playing, stacking blocks, coloring—while I read and yet, hours later, they remember EVERY word. So, as you embark on the read aloud journey, I encourage you to read, even when you think your learners are not engaged or paying attention. They are listening. Your reading matters!

The goal was to read aloud, everyday: one picture book, one science-related book (generally from what they were interested in or what we were observing and studying), and one biography or history-related book.

I made sure I left time for pretend play.

Pretend play. Littles learn by imagining and doing, by role playing and creating dialogue in relaxed and uninterrupted environments. Pretend play utilizes the senses and engages the mind, building language and thinking skills. Beginning in the toddler years, littles can be found feeding baby dolls, talking on pretend telephones, playing store, and mixing marvelous meals in a play kitchen. This continues through Kindergarten. What's needed? Props! Some of our favorite pretend play items have been:

• calculators, adding machines, and toy cash registers

• dress up clothes and hats, backpacks and purses

• fabric pieces, scarves, or old costumes

• aprons, chef hats, pretend food, and dishes

• stuffed animals and dolls

• receipt books, stickers, and play money

• old telephones, computer keyboards, and monitors

• puppets and make-shift card table theaters 

When the afternoon boredom sets in, I allow my children to utilize our art supplies or play games. You can read about how we built and organized our art supplies. Our favorite learning games are listed here. While creating art or playing games, littles practice turn taking with supplies, deferment to another person, waiting for others to make decisions or complete a turn, as well as a multitude of cognitive skills.

We want our Kindergarteners to know they matter—their thoughts, their ideas, their feelings, their development.

One of the best things about homeschooling is we get to do life together.

Do life together. One of the things I love about parenting Kindergarteners is watching their faces light up—indoors and outdoors, around the home, and on vacation.

• Getting the mail might lead to a conversation about stamps, addresses, states, or modes of transportation.

• Setting the table teaches one-to-one correspondence.

• Folding laundry offers opportunities to make fractional parts by folding in half and in half again.

• Matching shoes and sorting toys provides real-life situations for identifying similarities and differences.

• Making together, kitchen experiences: measuring, comparing, weighing (math skills) as well as muscle skills, scrubbing potatoes, stirring, and kneading together. Doing life together allows preschoolers to learn alongside. 

Every moment is a marvel, especially when Kindergarten learners are engaged in doing life with those they love.

Kinders are relational. They want to engage in face-to-face conversation and hand-in-hand exploration. When we talk to our children, listen to their questions, concerns, and ideas, we model interpersonal skills and they learn how to process information, feelings, and emotions. These skills are some of the most valuable nuggets our little learners will internalize in their early years. 

We purpose Kindergarten to be natural, engaging, and personal. We don’t spend extended time sitting at tables or face-to-face with workpages and fill-in the blanks. We want learning to be meaningful and relaxed, an extension of life, not segmented or overly scheduled.

Kindergarten may not look the same for you or your family. It’s part of the freedom you have to do what you feel is best needed for your children. Read and learn what’s out there, but spend most of your time observing, learning about, and enjoying nurturing your child. You will be surprised at the gains—cognitively, socially, emotionally, and physically.

Kindergarten is a gift.

Best to you as you unwrap that gift.

Kindergarten Skills

YOU can homeschool Kindergarten.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Kindergarten at home doesn’t have to look like Kindergarten in a traditional school for learners to make progress.

• Being “ahead in Kindergarten” doesn’t mean the child will be ahead by third grade.

• Mastering skills doesn’t take as long when homeschooling one-on-one.

Kindergarten Skills

Math

• Count objects in a group to twenty

• Associate a number with a quantity

• Identify more than and less than to ten (quantity)

• Identify more than and less than to twenty (quantity)

• Number words through twenty (one, two, three, four, and so on)

• Understand that numbers eleven to nineteen represent tens and extra ones

• Create a pattern with two, three, and four objects

• Understand the concept of addition as adding two or more groups to get a sum total of all objects

• Understand meaning of “all together”

• Understand concept of subtraction as beginning with a large group and taking some away

• Add sets with one to five members

• Associate the action of adding two or more groups with a symbolic (equation) representation

• Solve word problems

• Count by one from a number other than one

• Count to 100 by tens

• Make positional statement about the location of an object: above, under, left, right, front, back

• Name common shapes and the side associated with each

• Understand difference between two- and three-dimensional shapes

• Recognize coins

• Associate coin with a value

• Write the numerals in the phone number

Language Arts

• Recognize upper and lower case letters

• Writing upper and lower case letters

• Match letters to sounds

• Recognize the beginning sound of a word

• Recognize the ending sound of a word

• Blend sounds

• Recognize rhyming words

• State a word which rhymes with another word.

• Recognize common sight words: a, the, and, to

• Understand the role of author and illustrator

• Move eyes across a page from left to right

• Explore different genres (fables, rhymes, tongue twisters, biographies, fantasies)

• Make a prediction

• Tell a story

• Retell a story

• Understand cause and effect

• Put pictures in a proper sequence

• Answer questions related to something heard read aloud

• Understand the first word of a sentence is capitalized

• Understand first letters of names and places are capitalized

• Understand that sentences have punctuation

• Engage in a conversation

• Spell first and last name

• State street address and city of residence

• Name the members of the family and state two sentences about each member

• Name the days of the week, in order

Social Studies

• Expose to differences in cultures and traditions

• Understand how past influences present and future

• Understand family culture and heritage

• Understand the background and significance of holidays

• Understand meaning of recycle, reuse, repurpose

• Develop map skills (north, south, east, west)

• Name and locate state and country of residence

• Name the continents

• Learn the difference between maps and globes

• Explain how to get to a destination visited frequently (local grocery store, navigate neighborhood to get home)

• Understand difference between land and water

• Recognize landforms (lake, stream, river, ocean, mountain, hill, plain)

• Learn about different types of shelters or homes

• Learn the roles of community workers

• Learn roles in sharing and taking turns

• Understand importance of conflict resolution

Science

• Learn personal safety - wear a bike helmet, bike on the right side of the road, supervision with sharp objects)

• Identify major body parts and describe their action and function

• Identify the five senses

• Name the four seasons and corresponding characteristics

• Observe weather changes

• Identify and describe daily weather

• Describe differences in day and night sky

• Describe differences in nightly changes of the moon

• Understand differences in characteristics of ocean, desert, mountain habitats

• Investigate and observe characteristics of soil, rock, and water

• Understand differences of living and non-living things

• Observe local plants and animals

• Understand and explain differences between plants and animals

• Describe and identify basic parts of a plant

• Observe behaviors of animals and describe how those behaviors are related to their environment

• Explain the difference between insects, fish, mammals, and birds

• Describe items in terms of which they are made (cloth, wood, plastic, paper)

• Name the physical features of items in terms of color, texture, shape, size

• Observe changes in matter (beaten egg whites, popped corn, ice cream)

• Understand properties and uses of water in gas, solid, and liquid form

• Understand terms and conditions of sink and float

• Understand why magnets are attracted to objects

• Make predictions

• Make observations

• Explain a process

Physical Education

• Increase flexibility and muscle strength

• Understand the health benefits of being physically active

• Participate in cardiovascular activities

• Play follow the leader

• Participate in the Hokey Pokey

• Climb stairs, alternating feet

• Balance on one foot

• Balance on a beam or line

• Walk backwards

• Run at different speeds, stop on command

• Jump

• Hop on one foot

• Skip

• Gallop

• Kick a ball

• Dance to a rhythm

• Understands safety precautions for familiar sports equipment

• Throw a ball overhand

• Throw a ball underhand

• Throw a ball at a target

Art/Music

• Explore elements of art: line, shape, color, texture, space)

• Develop art vocabulary

• Hold a paint brush properly

• Experiment with brush movements

• Understand proper use of glue sticks and bottles

• Understand proper care of art supplies (paint brushes, paper, paint, glue)

• Clean up art area properly

• Understand safe handling and use of child-friendly scissors

• Cut in a straight line

• Cut on a curved line

• Understand and name primary colors

• Know which primary colors (red, blue, yellow) can be mixed to make secondary colors (green, purple, orange)

• Experiment with various art mediums

• Create a sculpture with found materials

• Describe etiquette for an art museum

• Make observations of visual art

• Keep a steady beat

• Recognize differences in tempo, fast and slow (lullaby, march)

• Recognize differences in dynamic (loud and soft)

• Recognize difference in pitch (high and low—drums, piccolo, violin, bass)

• Identify basic instruments

• Listen for specific instruments in a composition

• Listen to music and describe tempo, dynamics, and sounds heard

• Experiment with singing voice

• Experiment with kazoo, recorder, harmonica, or tin whistle

• Move to music

• Describe etiquette for a concert

• Attend a concert or recital

• Listen to variety of genres of music

Young children are naturally inquisitive, if we allow them the time and space to be curious and explore.

Teaching children to observe, take notice of differences, make predictions, and ask questions fosters their natural need to learn. Kindergarten is a perfect time to engage in these activities and nurture skills.

These lists are guidelines. Home educating parents are responsible to oversee the education of their children based on each child’s individual ability. When in question, consult with a professional.

25 Games to Teach Elementary Skills

Games are a daily occurance in our home. They’re fun. They’re engaging. They’re relational and they’re educational. Games are a WIN WIN and a welcomed rescue to table time. Here’s a few we’ve loved, preschool through elementary.

• BINGO (number recognition 1-75)

• Matching/Concentration (similarities and differences, short-term memory, working memory)

• War - with a deck of cards (matching quantity, more than, less than)

• Dominoes (matching similarities, quantity recognition 1-6, counting 1-6)

• Scrabble Junior (letter recognition, introductory phonics, initial consonant sounds, spelling)

• Uncle Wiggly (number recognition 1-100, counting)

• Guess Who? (critical thinking, problem solving)

• Rush Hour Traffic Jam Logic Game (thinking skills by ThinkFun)

• Hi-Ho Cherry-O (early counting, addition and subtraction concepts)

• Barrel of Monkeys (GREAT for motor skills!)

• Busy Bee (thinking skills, addition, an oldie but goodie introduced to us by great-grandma)

• Rivers, Roads, and Rails (thinking skills, another oldie by goodie)

• World and US map floor puzzles (geography)

• Scrabble Sentence Game for Juniors (sentence structure, spelling)

• Scrabble Sentence Cube Game (sentence structure, spelling)

• Learning Resources Pizza Fraction Fun (fractions)

• Oreo Matching Middles (shape matching)

• Hopscotch (great for motor skills)

• Simon Says (listening and following directions)

• Checkers (thinking skills)

• Hail to the Chief (history)

• RACK-O (counting 1-60, more than, less than)

• Yahtzee (quantity recognition, addition, multiplication)

• Even Steven’s Odd (counting, sequencing, number patterns, addition, and multiplication)

• Somebody Game (human body game)

Seven Things Preschoolers Need

Preschool education forms the foundation for life and learning. In fact, it is during the preschool years that little learners master foundational skills which serve as a knowledge base for the years and skills to come. Included in that foundation are the attitudes toward learning.  If the days and the education in those days are rushed—pushed—learning becomes burdensome, uninteresting, and often irrelevant. When learning flows naturally from that which is real and relational—interesting and personal—joy and wonder fuel their unending curiosity.

A love of learning is nurtured and begins with the items and people little learners love most.

How is a love of learning fostered, nurtured, and cultivated?

Go outside. Bikes. Bird nests. Sand. Water. Rock wall. Littles are on the move and interested in things that move! Movement is part of their physical and cognitive development. Littles are not made to be at tables and desks for extended periods of time. Instead, they need to be involved, moving and engaged. Outdoors—at the playground, on a nature trail, in the park, along a shoreline, at the beach—provides a natural classroom with endless possibilities for learning.

Read aloud. Reading aloud has been one of the most rewarding activities we've done in our more than years of teaching and parenting littles—picture books, biographies, non-fiction wonders. Each title opens opportunities for setting a template for the English language, building vocabulary, bolstering listening skills, understanding parts of a story, retelling events, the list goes on. Interestingly, there have been times when our little learners are seemingly off in their own world—playing, stacking blocks, coloring—while I read and yet, hours later, they remember EVERY word. So, as you embark on the read aloud journey, I encourage you to read, even when you think your learners are not engaged or paying attention. They are listening. Your reading matters!

Pretend play. Preschoolers learn by imagining and doing, by role playing and creating dialogue in relaxed and uninterrupted environments. Pretend play utilizes the senses and engages the mind, building language and thinking skills. Beginning in the toddler years, littles can be found feeding baby dolls, talking on pretend telephones, playing store, and mixing marvelous meals in a play kitchen. What's needed? Props! Some of our favorite pretend play items have been:

• measuring cups and spoons

• calculators, adding machines, and toy cash registers

• dress up clothes and hats, backpacks and purses

• fabric pieces, scarves, or old costumes

• magnifying glasses, binoculars. or a Brock Magiscope

• rulers, tape measures, protractors, and shape stencils

• aprons, chef hats, pretend food, and dishes

• stuffed animals and dolls

• receipt books, stickers, and play money

• old telephones, computer keyboards, and monitors

• puppets and make-shift card table theaters 

Games. Playing games allow children to learn important life skills, naturally, in a relax environment. While playing, littles practice turn taking, deferment to another person, waiting for others to make decisions or complete a turn, as well as a multitude of cognitive skills. Our favorite preschool learning games include:

• BINGO (number recognition 1-75)

• Matching cards (similarities and differences)

• Dominoes (matching similarities, quantity recognition 1-6, counting 1-6)

• Scrabble Junior (letter recognition, introductory phonics, initial consonant sounds)

• Uncle Wiggly (number recognition 1-100, counting)

• Guess Who? (critical thinking)

• Hi-Ho Cherry-O (early counting, addition and subtraction concepts)

• Barrel of Monkeys (GREAT for motor skills!)

• Busy Bee (an oldie but goodie introduced to us by great-grandma)

• Rivers, Roads, and Rails (another oldie by goodie)

• Hopscotch (great for motor skills)

• Simon Says (listening and following directions)

• Checkers (critical thinking skills)

Do life together. One of the things I love about parenting preschoolers is watching their faces light up—indoors and outdoors, around the home, and on vacation.

• Getting the mail might lead to a conversation about stamps, addresses, states, or modes of transportation.

• Setting the table teaches one-to-one correspondence.

• Folding laundry offers opportunities to make fractional parts by folding in half and in half again.

• Matching shoes and sorting toys provides real-life situations for identifying similarities and differences.

• Making together, kitchen experiences: measuring, comparing, weighing (math skills) as well as muscle skills, scrubbing potatoes, stirring, and kneading together. Doing life together allows preschoolers to learn alongside. 

Every moment is a marvel, especially when preschoolers are engaged in doing life with those they love.

Talk and listen. Preschoolers are relational. They want to engage in face-to-face conversation and hand-in-hand exploration. When we talk to our children, listen to their questions, concerns, and ideas, we model interpersonal skills and they learn how to process information, feelings, and emotions. These skills are some of the most valuable nuggets our little learners will internalize in their early years. 

Ask questions. It is no secret that little learners are natural questioners. They wonder what will happen next, how things happen, and when things will happen. It is in this inquisitiveness that they learn how life and people work, interact, and interrelate. Questioning is one of the most important life skills parents can foster and nurture. Mike and I foster inquisitiveness with commentaries and questions which invite our children to do the same. 

• I wonder how the (insert animal) stays warm.

• What comes next in the sequence?  

• I wonder if (insert item) will work better with this or that.

• What do you think will happen next?

• I wonder where that trail leads.

• Let's watch the (insert animal). I wonder what it will do next. 

• How long do you think it will take to ...?

Looking for a guide, a resource to encourage you through learning in the preschool years? One of my favorite resources for understanding the needs of little learners was Home Grown Kids by Raymond and Dorothy Moore. Once our children entered first grade The Three R's by Ruth Beechick became a go-to resource.

The preschool years are the wonder years, full of life and discovery, ripe with curiosity.

When learning flows naturally from that which is real and relational--interesting and personal--retention follows closely behind.

6 Practical Ways to Build Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension is one of THOSE skills.

Many educators and parents struggle to teach, reinforce and foster the skill well.

Just as many children struggle, too, bringing frustration to the reading table.

Reading comprehension doesn’t have to bring angst!

It’s a common challenge. YOU are not alone.

Over my more than thirty years of working with children, my own and others, I've rejoiced in light bulb moments when an idea or strategy works. I’ve also sat, frustrated and bewildered. I’ve been in that place as a learner, educator, and parent. It’s a tough place to be.

From my experiences, I've helped parents find alternative solutions, often individualizing teaching methods.

What has worked?

Some families find one strategy works, at least for a time, and then find another. Others need more than one method in the same season. Still others cycle in and out of several.

The key is to use what works for YOUR learner.

1. Find something the child enjoys. Every child (yes, every child!) has an interest—something that engages—something the child won’t put down. For me, it was gymnastics. My fourth grade teacher discovered the interest and used it to teach me to read—when the third grade teacher said it was hopeless. What interests your learner. Grasshoppers? Recipes? Catapults? There is always an interest, though it may take a bit of effort to find it. When it's found? YAY!

   If your state requires you to log this activity. After the learner chooses reading material—perhaps From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman—the time spent reading can be logged as independent reading (or as a read aloud, should that be the case). If you discuss the content, there’s reading comprehension. As the interest grows, If the family observes the change from caterpillar to butterfly on a backyard plant, those experiences can be logged in science.

2. Read together. One mom we know instituted an "everybody reads at 10:30 am" policy. In other words, at 10:30am, each person in the home found something he or she enjoyed, found a comfy place, and read. When there was a toddler, preschooler, or budding reader in the mix, she read aloud to them. Reading time starting with a 15-minute duration and she gradually increased the time. Why? Because the children asked for the time to be increased. To get to that moment when they requested more time, she had to allow the children to bring their choice—a kids' cookbook, the Boy's Life catalog, or the recent subscription to Highlights—to come to reading time. And, the mom? When she wasn’t reading to littles, she dug into her current read. Reading time quickly became a favorite time time of day. Everyone reading, all together. 

   If you live in a state which requires you to log this activity. The time spent reading can be logged as independent reading (or as a read aloud, should that be the case) under language arts with book title and author. Again, if there is a discussion about what is taking place in the books, or there is a synthesis of some kind to a practical activity, it’s reading comprehension. Content (camping, ants, nutrition) can be logged in the appropriate content area.

3. Draw a picture. Creative children love to make and design. Why not try building reading comprehension from the innate desire to create? That’s is what my fourth grade teacher did. She encouraged me to write my own gymnastics book (not because I was a champion speller, but because she knew I loved to draw; the illustrating motivated me to spell to the best ability I could). For your learners, it may look like building reading fluency with a sewing how-to book or a biography about Rube Goldberg and then

   • drawing a picture of a character, the setting or an exciting event in the chapter—an open invitation to design and color something visually pleasing (and you get to see if the learner accurately understood—from the reading—what the character looked and behaved like, wore, or enjoyed)

   • creating a diorama of the setting or a scene (get ready for the glue and maybe more research needed to make it authentic)

   • constructing a model (Rube’s pretty cool)

   • building or baking something (someone will be delighted, further fueling the reading)

   If you live in a state which requires logging the activity. After the learner chooses reading material—perhaps a how-to sketch barns book—the time spent reading can be logged as independent reading under language arts with book title and author. In addition, sketching techniques can be entered in the arts.

4. Read aloud. I know this takes time (I'm a mom of full days, too) however, the time and effort of reading something engaging (perhaps slightly above the child's ability) can build vocabulary and knowledge of language structure. Even a short time each day can pay off great dividends. 

   Some of our favorite family read alouds are:

   A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla

   Helen Keller's Teacher by Margaret Davidson (as well as her other amazing titles)

   George Cohan: Boy Theater Genius by Gertrude Hecker Winders

   If you live in a state which requires you to log this activity. After the learner chooses reading material—perhaps Young Thomas Edison by Michael Dooling—the time spent reading can be logged as independent reading (or as a read aloud or vocabulary if word meanings are discussed, should that be the case) in language arts. The content can be logged in science.

5. Take turns. Mix it up. This has work extremely well for us as our budding readers take off. We take turns reading, first in small sentence chunks, working to pages—I read a sentence, you read a sentence, building to I read a paragraph, you read a paragraph. Then one day, the learner takes of and reads the whole chapter, independently. This is an important strategy for emerging readers building fluency and confidence to read aloud. We have found Step-up books and Discovery Biographies by Garrard Publishing  are perfect for this purpose. They are out of print, but super worth the time to find them. Check out Ebay or used book sources.

   If you live in a state which requires you to log this activity. Perhaps the learner chooses reading material—maybe Meet Abraham Lincoln by Barbara Cary from the Discovery series mentioned above—the time spent reading can be logged as independent reading (or as a read aloud, should that be the case) under language arts. If you spend time talking about what happened in the chapter, add reading comprehension. As for the information learned about Abraham Lincoln, add that to history.

6. Give content. Real-life dilemmas and adventures intrigued my readers. Real-life and real people grab the attention of many children—there’s problems to solve which influence history-changing events all of which the reader is invited into with Living Books.  For example, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo from the Landmark book series written by Captain Ted W. Larson (Doolittle Raid pilot) pulled my readers into the plot almost immediately. We were with the fliers in training, events, and aftermath of the raid. Yes, there was mention of injuries, blood, and bombing, but courage, perseverance, real-life challenge (not fabricated and artificial) enveloped every page. We dug deeper into learning about WW2 and why these pilots chose to fly this mission. I have to say, I never learned this in my years of school, so I was just as intrigued as my children.

   NOTE: This book is one of the more graphic of the Landmark series and we chose wait until late middle school to introduce the content. And, I read it aloud so we could talk about anything which brought a question. I encourage parents to read the content prior to making the decision to offer this book to their children. Not all Landmark books are as graphic, but knowing the author was the pilot of the plane reminded us that it was his first-hand account, not just details written from someone looking in or choosing what to or not to include. The event was real, lived out by a real person who had to solve real problems.

   If you live in a state which requires you to log this activity. For the book mentioned above, I logged reading aloud, vocabulary development, and reading comprehension. I also logged geography (because we located the places mentioned on a world map) and Doolittle Raid or WW2 in history.

What if my child just doesn't like to read?

Some don't. Others are reluctant or don’t know they could like reading. That was me—non-reader, discouraged, and frustrated. I needed someone to take one-on-one interest and appreciate my strengths.

If there is a continuous aversion to reading, even with content of interest, consider whether a physical limitation or delay may be contributing to the challenge. For example, if the eyes don't converge on the page of written material, reading will be difficult and not enjoyable. And, for some learners, letters are scrambled meaningless symbols (me again!). These struggles may not be readily observable or obvious, yet should be considered a possibility when children have an aversion to reading. A key element to this process is compassion. Knowing someone is willing to lean in and understand is a treasure.

There are practical ways to build reading comprehension. It can be as SIMPLE as enjoying a read aloud and discussing what was heard or it can be a combination of several methods. And, having someone cheer you on helps make the journey easier. The secret is not to make more complicated than necessary.

Teaching Counting Skills with Picture Books

Counting books cycle in our home—about every four years over the past three decades as little learners grow and start their quest to conquer the concepts and skills involved in counting. 

Noticing some of our favorites are disappearing from the library shelves, I am purposefully adding some of our quickly disappearing favorites to our home library. We LOVE them that much! I think you may, too.

1. How Many Snails? Rich, bold vibrant colors invite little learners to jump in, use observation skills, and count! Though counting is the main skill reinforced, attributes, following directions, and processing fair well, too. One of our favorites! Author: Paul Giganti, Jr.

2. M&M Counting Book. The familiar candies on the front draw readers to scoop up the content. Once opened, this book teaches counting through 12, counting sets, and beginning addition and subtraction. Author: Barbara Barbieri McGrath

3. Counting is for the Birds. The rhyming text makes this brilliantly-illustrated counting-to-twenty book an all-time favorite of ours. Author: Frank Mazzola, Jr.

4. Cardinal Numbers: An Ohio Counting Book. Counting 1 - 14 with beautiful illustrations and real-world word problems on the last pages, this book is one of many in the Sleeping Bear Press numbers series. We found this a favorite for our older children, too, as side bars on each page offer additional learning opportunities for curious learners. Author: Marcia Schonberg

5. Great Estimations. An intriguing look at estimating as an advanced counting technique. Great photography, fun examples, and helpful hints for counting objects in large numbers. Great for older learners, too! Author: Bruce Goldstone.

6. The Coin Counting Book. Counting takes a journey into the world of coin recognition and value. Great for beginning coin counters with piggy bank of coins waiting to be counted.  Another of our favorites due to the natural interest most kids have in money. Author: Rozanne Lanczank Williams.

7. Eating Pairs: Counting Fruits and Vegetables by Two. What about odds and evens? This unique counting book is one we love for teaching the concept of odd and even. We love that the numbers are written down the side bar of each page, begging for us to count along...again! Author: Sarah L. Schuette.

8. The Crayon Counting Book. While on the subject of odds and evens, we love this one, too! Again, the big bold numbers on each page help connect objects and symbols—and important part of math development. Check this one out and don’t be surprised if you are coloring at the close of the book. Authors: Pam Munoz Ryan and Jerry Pallotta.

9. 10 Little Rubber Ducks. Fictionalized counting story of a real-life event presented alongside the classic Eric Carle collage art. Bright illustrations and a intriguing story line. Great addition to the home library, for sure! Author: Eric Carle.

10. Even Steven and Odd Todd. Another odd and even favorite, this one hails from the Hello Math Reader series. This is a great counting read for a little learner who has an interest in learning to read. It’s larger font is particularly inviting. My littles often choose this book for our before-bed reading. Author: Kathryn Cristaldi

Counting is fun and it’s remembered, especially when it’s off the page, engaging, and off the page. These books will you have fun while learning.

60 Nature Study Resources to Foster Curiosity in Your Children

YOU can teach science!

When I began homeschooling twenty-six years ago, one of the topics I felt least prepared to teach was science. What if I couldn’t teach my children what they were supposed to learn? What if I missed something important? 

Then came a realization.

Children LOVE being outdoors and they LOVE to ask questions—two factors providing a great foundation from which to work.

Maybe I could teach science?

Years later, I know I can. It’s not about me coming up with great plans and fancy curriculum.

It’s about me fostering the curiosity and providing engaging resources; being available to listen to ideas and help process information.

The same is true today as I embark on another year with a handful of learners, preschool through high school.  

Perhaps you face the same doubts and similar questions.  

You are not alone.

Your learners may be at different ages and stages. You may live in the city.

Again, you are not alone.

YOU can teach science!

This post provides over 60 resources you can use today!

But FIRST, here are some important starting points.

Starting Points for Successful Study

• Find out what your children want to learn, what interests them. Start there.

• If there are no hints, start with animals. Most children love animals, of some type.

• Add real experiences.  Many can be found around your home or community.

• Provide a field guide or two for found treasures.

• Gather a pile of inviting non-fiction and picture books.

Now for the resources

Nature-Related Picture Books

A Nest is Noisy, Dianna Hutts Aston

Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney

One Morning in Maine, Robert McCloskey

Owl Moon, Jane Yolen

Roxaboxen, Alice McLerran

Snowflake Bentley, Jacqueline Briggs Martin

The Raft, Jim LaMarche

Nature-Related Non-Fiction Books

Blooms and Plants

From Seed to Plant, Gail Gibbons

How a Seed Grows, Helene J. Jordan

Planting a Rainbow, Lois Ehlert

Stems and Roots, David M. Schwartz

The Carrot Seed, Ruth Krauss

The Tiny Seed, Eric Carle

Tops and Bottoms, Janet Stevens

Insects and Crawlies

About Arachnids: A Guide for Children, Cathyrn Sill

About Insects: A Guide for Children, Cathryn Sill

Ant Cities, Arthur Dorros

Are You A Grasshopper? Judy Allen

Bugs Are Insects, Anne Rockwell

The Ant and the Grasshopper, Amy Lowry Poole

The Honey Makers, Gail Gibbons

Tadpoles and Frogs

About Amphibians: A Guide for Children, Cathryn Sill

Frogs, Gail Gibbons

Frogs and Polliwogs, Dorothy Childs Hogner

From Tadpole to Frog, Wendy Pfeffer

Beaches

About Crustaceans: A Guide for Children, Cathryn Sill

A House for Hermit Crab, Eric Carle

Gulls, Gulls, Gulls, Gail Gibbons

Sea Shells, Crabs, and Sea Stars, Christiane Kump Tibbitts

What Lives in A Shell?, Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

Fins

About Fish: A Guide for Children, Cathryn Sill

Feathered Friends

All About Birds, Cathryn Sill

About Hummingbirds: A Guide for Children, Cathryn Sill

Counting is for the Birds, Frank Mazzola, Jr.

Furry Critters

All About Mammals, Cathryn Sill

Field Guides and Resources

A Handbook of Nature Study, Anna Botsford Comstock

Florida’s Fabulous Series

                Florida’s Fabulous Waterbirds: Their Stories, Winston Williams

                Florida’s Fabulous Land Birds: Their Stories, Winston Williams

Florida’s Fabulous Reptiles and Amphibians: Snakes, Lizards, Alligators, Frogs and Turtles, Winston Williams

Take-Along Guides

                Caterpillars, Bugs, and Butterflies, Mel Boring

                Birds, Nests, and Eggs, Mel Boring

                Trees, Leaves, and Bark, Diane Burns

Peterson Field Guides  http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/peterson/

Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition, Powell, Conant, and Collins

Nature-Related Drawing Books for Sketchers and Creatives

Draw 50 Birds: The Step-by-Step Way to Draw Chickadees, Peacocks, Toucans, Mallards, and Many More of Our Feathered Friends, Lee J. Ames

Draw 50 Flowers, Trees, and Other Plants: The Step-by-Step Way to Draw Orchids, Weeping Willows, Prickly Pears, Pineapples, and Many More..., Lee J. Ames

How to Draw Flowers (Dover How to Draw), Barbara Soloff Levy

Supplies and Materials

Brock Magiscope https://www.cherylbastian.com/blog/2016/4/22/owl-pellets-and-a-magiscope-simple-discovery-science

Carolina Biological Supply Company  https://www.carolina.com/ (owl pellets)

Educational Innovators https://www.teachersource.com/ (dolomite samples and owl pellets)

 Nature Gift Store https://www.nature-gifts.com/  (ant farms and live ants, butterflies)

Celebrate Simple Blog Posts

Blog post: Vintage Science Books for the WIN!

Use what is available in the backyard, at the park or beach front, on the porch or pond’s edge—wherever you happen to be.

Porch Science  https://www.cherylbastian.com/blog/2017/5/31/porch-science

Citizen Science https://www.cherylbastian.com/blog/2017/10/22/citizen-science-get-real-with-learning

Puddle Fun https://www.cherylbastian.com/blog/2016/10/4/children-learn-from-puddles

MORE…

We live in a suburban area. Though we have a backyard and a neighborhood to explore, we have to plan and be intentional about visiting state parks, ponds and streams, or the beach. When we travel we look for opportunities which are not typical or available in our area.

We’ve enjoyed

• Bird sanctuaries

• Rainforest exhibits

• Arboretums

• Nature preserves

• State and national parks

• Factories and manufacturing plants

• Museums and displays

• State and county fairs

YOU can teach science!

And, in doing so, you will not only keep your child’s natural curiosity alive, but you will open doors for other discipline areas like math and writing.

Maybe you are thinking. “There could have a WHOLE podcast on nature-related study.” In fact, there is! Check out this conversation I had with Jenni and Jody over at From Cradle to Calling.

When in doubt, remember to remind yourself to look for what interests your child. Start there!

YOU can teach science!

50 Picture Books Children Love

Picture books invite readers into the story, into the lives of the characters. While reading, listeners develop empathy and understanding of others' feelings and circumstances, almost without knowing the transformation is taking place. For this reason, picture books become a child's first experience with the power of story. Together as a family, we've jumped into the plots of Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens, and Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina.

• Ackerman, Karen, Song and Dance Man

• Brett, Jan, Town Mouse and Country Mouse

• Brown, Marcia, Stone Soup

• Burton, Virginia Lee, Katy and the Big Snow

• Burton, Virginia Lee, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

• Burton, Virginia Lee, The Little House

• Carle, Eric, A House for Hermit Crab

• Carle, Eric, The Grouchy Ladybug

• Cooney, Barbara, Miss Rumphius

• Eastman, P. D. , Are You My Mother?

• Ehlert, Lois, Pie in the Sky

• Estes, Eleanor, The Hundred Dresses

• Freeman, Don, Corduroy

• Fleming, Denise, Barnyard Banter

• Galdone, Paul, The Gingerbread Boy

• Gramatky, Hardie, Little Toot

• Hall, Donald, Ox-Cart Man

• Hoban, Russell and Lillian, Bread and Jam for Frances

• Hoff, Syd, Sammy the Seal

• Johnson, Crockett, Harold and the Purple Crayon

• Keats, Ezra Jack, Peter’s Chair

• Keats, Ezra Jack, The Snowy Day

• Keats, Ezra Jack, Whistle for Willie

• Krauss, Ruth, The Carrot Seed

• LaMarche, Jim, The Raft

• Laroche, Giles, If You Lived Here: Houses of the World

• Lindbergh, Reeve, Johnny Appleseed

• McCloskey, Robert, Blueberries for Sal

• McCloskey, Robert, Lentil

• McCloskey, Robert, One Morning in Maine

• Newberry, Clare Turlay, Barkis

• Perkins, Al, The Digging-est Dog

• Piper, Watty, The Little Engine that Could

• Stevens, Janet. Tops and Bottoms

• Swift, Hildegarde, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge

• Ward, Helen, Unwitting Wisdom: An Anthology of Aesop’s Fables

• Ward, Lynd, The Biggest Bear

• Wood, Audrey, The Napping House

• Yolan, Jane, Owl Moon

Younger listens learn concepts as we read.

Children ages 2-8 enjoy learning concepts through topics of interest, for example, cowboys, insects, or construction vehicles. Concept picture books make this possible and do so through relaxing moments with resources which foster both early learning and literacy.

• Alakija, Polly, Counting Chickens

• Carle, Eric, 10 Rubber Ducks

• Carle, Eric, Rooster’s Off to See the World

• Demarest, Chris, The Cowboy ABC

• Demarest, Chris, Firefighter A to Z

• Emberley, Barbara, Drummer Hoff

• Krull, Kathleen, M is for Music

• Laroche, Giles, If You Lived Here: Houses of the World

• McCurdy, Michael (illustrator), The Sailor’s Alphabet

• McGrath, Barbara, M&M Brand Chocolate Candies Counting Book

• McMillan, Bruce, Jelly Beans for Sale

• Pallotta, Jerry, The Icky Bug Alphabet Book

• Schnur, Steven, Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic

• Wadsworth, Olive A., Over in the Meadow: A Counting Rhyme

Older children learn about people who changed the world.

Biographical picture books. Our older picture book readers (which includes mom!) enjoy reading about real people who solve real problems. With biographical picture books, young readers don't have to wait until they can read chapter books to read about and meet some of the world's most significant history changers. Our favorites have included

• Dooling, Michael, Young Thomas Edison

• Moses, Will, Mary and Her Little Lamb

• Martin, Jacqueline Briggs, Snowflake Bentley

• Provensen, Alice and Martin, The Glorious Flight

A picture book invites readers into learning and into the stories of others, gently, peacefully, and purposefully. There will be pondering. There will be wonder. There will heart-changing impact, sometimes so subtly it will go unnoticed for a bit of time. 

Some of our most treasured family read-aloud moments and discussions have come from the pages we've turned together. 

With each book selected, read, placed on our shelves, and the read again, a legacy formed. That legacy is sweet, precious, unique to our family, as it will be yours. That story legacy is a gift, a gift which will continue to span generations. It is just one benefit of keeping learning real and relational. 

Distance Learning and Homeschooling

“Is the quarantine, distance learning like homeschooling? I mean, the kids are home, learning, so how is it different?”

This question. I’ve been asked it in many forms over the past weeks, but the underlying inquiry is the same.

Short answer. Not the same...SOMETIMES.

Sometimes?

We’re a homeschooling family of 26 years with four graduates. My husband is a 32-year veteran public school teacher currently instructing students via distance learning platforms. We’ve also been home education evaluators for 25 years.

We’ve sat around tables over the years; talking and looking through work samples produced by learners of all ages, walking with families from Kindergarten through graduation. We’ve seen the results of engaging a learning style and observed learners utilizing a great spectrum of learning philosophies. There’s been creative use of life opportunities and a collage of amazing educational creativity.

There are many types of home-based learning. It's a vast spectrum of possibilities. We’ve seen the results as we worked with families. Each family decides what works best for their family and begins to implement. There’s tweaking and adjusting to find good fits for learner. It’s not formulaic or set in stone. Some choose online learning exclusively, similiar to what my husband is doing with his public school students. The learners sit at the computer—read material, watch videos, take quizzes and tests—completing what the instructor assigns for all or most of their courses. That's one end of the spectrum. On the other end of the continuum, there's home education where a family uses everything they have at their fingertips and every part of life to promote thinking and learning—primary sources, museums, online courses, field trips, audio materials, cultural opportunities, civic events, library materials, entrepreneurial adventures, experiential activities, internships, mentorships, volunteer work, and even apprenticeships—to foster interests and cultivate the unique gifting of the learner. Families land all along this spectrum and some use different venues and resources for each child in the family. Learning doesn’t need to look the same for every child and although some home-based learning is like the distance learning many children and teens are experiencing in this season—where a teacher hands out all the work to be done and learners complete work virtually— there's also a plethora of other valuable options.

Home education is not bringing school home; duplicating what happens in a classroom. Yes, there are lessons, but they don’t all happen on paper or even on the computer. It is a tutorial method of education, an adjustment in teaching mode or method to the needs and developmental time table of the child. Sometimes that adjustment means not doing all the problems in a lesson because the material has been mastered. The time spent doing needless problems can be put toward learning another skill or free time to dig into an interest. At other times, home education allows for adjustments in schedule. An example would be taking a brain break after 10 minutes to refill a water bottle or do a few jumping jacks, maybe even ride a bicycle before heading back to a lesson. This is difficult to do in a group setting where jumping jacks might be considered a distraction to another student. With a limited number of learners it is easier to individualize schedules to optimize instruction. Home education also offers the opportunity to take learning off the page as much as necessary. This may take the form of observing life cycles, like caterpillars changing to butterflies or collecting tadpoles, instead of reading about the processes in a book. Experiential learning at the middle and high school level is possible, even preferable in many cases. In our years of coaching parents and young adults, we’ve encountered business start-ups and growth, video production projects, event planning, propagation of banana plants and engagement in sustainable gardening, award winning musicians, hopeful future Olympians, even the completion of the AA in conjunction with high school graduation. The possibilities are as vast as the learners who engage in this type of home education.

Side note #1. I am giving a shout out to the many educators I know who intentionally make experiential learning a priority because they know its value. I admire these educators—who often have to overcome obstacles to bring their students what they need because they know it’s best. Students are fortunate to have such opportunities. If that’s YOU, YOU matter and deserve KUDOS for the ingeniousness ways you make learning come alive in the classroom.

Side note #2. What many families are doing currently is crisis schooling—schooling with social distancing while sheltering at home under uncertain circumstances. Those who found themselves orchestrating distance learning did so with short notice while also navigating other life situations including job transitions. Most of us who chose to home educate didn’t have these obstacles to navigate. If you find yourself in the midst of circumstances you didn’t choose, my hat’s off to you. YOU can do this.

For those wondering if home education has changed, it’s a bit different, even for those of us who’ve been doing this awhile. Families are limited in comparison to what they normally have access. However, there is also possibility! The time is ripe for thinking, problem solving, and trying something different; with learning, that’s what people do—look for possibilities. Problem solve. Ask questions. Adjust. Ask more questions. Adjust and try again.

How is this season different, even for home education families?

With change, there’s opportunity to learn differently (hopefully a short season).

• Libraries are closed. Families must rely on their home libraries or online audio resources. We’ve personally enjoyed more Kindle and Audible. But, it’s still not quite the same—we love our home library but long for the ability to, once again, reserve resources online and have them dropped at our doorstep.

• Museums are closed. This rich cultural option is a missing component of art education, however we’ve discovered great online options—San Juan Museum of Art, The Vatican, and these—for now.

• Theaters are closed. Don’t let this temporary inconvenience stop the love of theater. Our family has enjoyed the free showings at the Globe Theater. You can, too.

• Contact with people, in-person outside our family, not an option. We love learning from other people. In fact, we discovered we can gain nuggets of information from almost every interaction—produce manager, postmaster, auto mechanic, neighbor, waiter. Though we can learn from online tutorials and videos, there’s no substitution for real people, real interactions. These interactions are missed, for sure.

What are the possibilities?

• There is time for digging deep into subjects of interest (assuming there is time built into the day to do so). When we plan time and offer resources to investigate (microscopes, magnifying glasses, water, sand, art supplies, fabric, and on and on), learners begin to understand they can wonder and discover and not have to wait for someone to tell them what to do and how to use resources. They learn to solve problems and find solutions. There’s even often an awareness that they can manage their time; time management is a life skill and comes with practice. These discoveries are freeing and nurture curiosity and a love of learning.

• There is time for family interaction. People crave relationship. We want to be in conversation, to know someone is available to listen and help process. One-on-one time, talking about what’s being discovered and learned. And, there are memory making moments: enjoying a game, eating a meal together, navigating conflict resolution, solving a puzzle, the possibilities for memorable time together are endless. Relationships matter, but they take time. With home education, we’ve got time.

Is distance learning like homeschooling?

Sometimes it is, other times it isn’t.

How to Use What You Have: Counting

We’ve adopted a phrase.

Use what we have to boost what we know.

Could mean one of two things.

Use the resources and items we have to learn something new.

Or

Use the resources and items we have to deepen or reinforce knowledge we learned previously.

Today, my mind is on counting!

Everywhere I look in my home there’s numbers—groups and sets. That’s how I want my children to understand numbers, counting—as part of every day. Last week I recorded a workshop - Math Never Tasted So Good—for the Keep Calm & Homeschool On Conference. I love encouraging families to help their children see math in the world. I reflected on the portion of the workshop which focused on counting.

Counting with little learners.

Counting crackers, rocks, trains, or whatever exists in the learner’s environment today leads to understanding of set notation, number operations, and more in the years to come.

How can I use what I have to foster or reinforce this skill?

Use Real. A vested interest sweetens the learning pot. If you think about it, this is true for adults as well. When you want to learn something or have something to gain, the motivation raises the need to master the skill. Where there is an interest or gain, there’s reason to learn. Find out what matters to your children and start there. Think cars, crackers, acorns, crayons, whatever can be counted or made into groups.

Skills

• Count to five by one.

  • Write those numbers in order.

• Make piles (sets or groups) of one, two, three, four, and five.

• Count to ten by one.

  • Write those numbers in order.

• Make piles (sets or groups) of ten.

• Count to twenty by one.

  • Write those numbers in order.

• Count by two to twenty.

  • Write those numbers in order.

• Make piles (sets or groups) of ten and use those groups to count by tens.

• Use dimes to count by ten.

• Count by ten to one hundred.

  • Write those numbers in order.

• Use nickels to count by five.

• Count by five to one hundred.

  • Write those numbers in order.

• Count by 100.

Keep it Real Activities

• Count the oranges in the two pound bag.

• Count the bananas in a bunch.

• Count a specific number of carrots to clean and cook for a meal.

• Count cars as they are put away for the day.

• Set the table - practice one-to-correspondence and counting table guests.

• Count the slices in a pizza.

• Count the tiles across the kitchen floor.

• Use snack crackers to make piles of two. Count by two.

• Make a number scavenger hunt.

• Play hopscotch - write the numbers and then count while hopping.

Counting and Reading Aloud. Counting books have cycled in and out of our home in our learning seasons with littles. Decades as little learners intentional about conquering counting concepts have helped to grow our list of favorites. Noticing some of our favorites are disappearing from the library shelves, I have intentionality purchased copies to add to our home library so we don't lose our loves. 

• How Many Snails? Rich, bold vibrant colors invite little learners to jump in and count! Though counting is the main skill reinforced, attributes, following directions, and processing fair well, too. One of our favorites! Author: Paul Giganti, Jr. 

• The M&M Counting Book. The familiar candies on the front draw readers to the content. Once opened, this book teaches counting through 12, counting sets, and beginning addition and subtraction. Author: Barbara Barbieri McGrath

• Counting is for the Birds. The rhyming text makes this brilliantly illustrated counting-to-twenty book an all-time favorite of ours. Author: Frank Mazzola, Jr.

• Cardinal Numbers: An Ohio Counting Book. Counting 1-14 with beautiful illustrations and real-world word problems on the last pages, this book is one of many in the Sleeping Bear Press series. A favorite for older children, too, as side bars on each page offer additional opportunities for curious learners. Author: Marcia Schonberg

• Great Estimations. An intriguing look at estimating as an advanced counting technique. Great photography, fun examples, and helpful hints for counting objects in large numbers. Great for older learners, too! Author: Bruce Goldstone.

• The Coin Counting Book. Counting takes another journey into the world of coin recognition and value. Great for beginner coin counters who have a piggy bank of coins waiting to be counted.  Another of our favorites due to the interest most kids have in money. Author: Rozanne Lanczank Williams.

• Eating Pairs: Counting Fruits and Vegetables by Two. Reading and learning odds and evens go hand-in-hand with this unique counting book. We love that the numbers are written down the side bar of each page, begging for us to count along...again! Author: Sarah L. Schuette.

• 10 Little Rubber Ducks. Fictionalized counting story of a real-life event presented alongside the classic Eric Carle collage art. Bright illustrations and a intriguing story line. Great addition to the home library, for sure! Author: Eric Carle.

Make a Counting Book. Grab an old magazine, weekly grocery ad, or catalog, cut out groups of objects and make a counting book.

Opportunities for learning and practicing counting skills abound in our days. How can we be intentional, real, and relational about those moments?