Elementary Archives - Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Explore the World (and Learn Coding!)

August 16, 2019 By Kris Bales

Kids can explore world cultures, hone their writing skills, and learn to code with The Adventurous Mailbox! Learn more with this Adventurous Mailbox review.

Thanks to the Internet and the fact that it’s available 24/7 on devices small enough to fit in our pockets, our big wide world has evolved into a pretty small space. That fact has its pros and cons. One of the cons is that thanks to an emerging world culture, we’re at risk of losing touch with the rich diversity of individual cultures.

The Adventurous Mailbox hopes to change that by exploring the beauty of a variety of countries’ cultures through exciting books and activities. Along the way, kids ages 8-12 will learn the basics of coding, hone their writing skills, and learn about the history, geography, and folklore of the countries they visit.

What Is The Adventurous Mailbox?

The Adventurous Mailbox is an exciting book series and accompanying website that explores world cultures through the eyes of Crameye. Crameye is a young kid from Taiwan who goes on some pretty crazy adventures with his best friend, Neva. Oh, and there’s also Crameye’s kid sister, Buster, and Neva’s little sister, Thor. [Read more…]

One Simple Trick for Evaluating a Book’s Level

August 5, 2019 By Heather Pleier

There are some great resources to decide if your child is ready for a novel, but there’s an even easier way. In the following article, Heather shares one simple trick for evaluating a book’s level.

Written by Heather Pleier of Wonderschooling.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had the same conversation. A parent wants to know if a book is appropriate for her child – if she should be allowed to read a particular novel.

Is he ready for Harry Potter? Charlie & the Chocolate Factory? Ender’s Game? Lord of the Rings? You name it.

One Simple Trick for Evaluating a Book's Level

There are some great resources, like Common Sense Media and even Scholastic, that rate books by interest level as well as difficulty. But there’s one simpler trick that works almost every time. This trick makes it a breeze to evaluate a book’s level and determine if it’s right for your child.

It’s just one simple question. [Read more…]

Tips for Taking a Summer Break from Math Workbooks

June 18, 2019 By Kris Bales

Whether it’s summer break or you’re just burned out, sometimes you and your kids need a break from math workbooks, but that doesn’t mean you have to let math slide. Try these ideas for keeping math skills sharp while you take a break from math worksheets.

It’s summertime. You’re ready for a break from teaching math as much as your kids are ready for a break from learning it. But you worry that if you put the workbooks aside until August or September, those hard-earned skills will get rusty.

Or maybe you school year round, but you’re looking for a more relaxed approach to math during the summer months. Is it worth it to take a break from math workbooks this summer?

$Tips for Taking a Summer Break from Math Workbooks$

Benefits of Taking a Break from Math Workbooks

Early in our homeschooling experience, someone introduced me to the idea of allowing time for lessons to percolate in a child’s mind. The idea is that even while a child is taking a break from actively learning or practicing a new concept, their brain is still thinking about and processing that information.

I’ve seen that proven time and again in our homeschool. Instead of pushing a difficult concept, I often saw more significant results in letting the kids take a break from it for a while. {I’m looking at you, long division.}

Other benefits of taking a break from textbooks and worksheets include:

Stress reduction
Improved focus after a break
Time and opportunity for real-world practice and connections

With all the benefits of taking breaks from formal learning, summer slide – or forgetting previously learned facts and skills during long breaks– is a genuine concern for teachers and homeschooling parents.

So, how do you capitalize on the benefits of taking a break without losing ground academically? [Read more…]

13 Hands-On Activities for Kids That Will Make Learning Fun

November 13, 2018 By Kris Bales

Hands-on activities for kids and teens make learning memorable and fun. Try these 13 hands-on learning activities that are versatile enough for any subject.

I still feel guilty. I carefully constructed my see-saw and placed the bucket of plastic army men on one end. Now, I was ready to jump on the other end and watch the bucket spin through the air, army men nestled safely inside, and land a few feet away just like the scenes in cartoons.

Except cartoons defy the laws of physics and gravity. Buckets of plastic army men in kindergarten classrooms do not.

I wish I could remember the name of the little boy I let take the fall for me. I’d apologize for high-tailing it in the other direction while our teacher scolded him for raining plastic army men all over the classroom.

Forever emblazed in my mind, that memory embodies hands-on learning at its finest. (Expect for my innocent classmate.) Activities that engage the body and mind enhance learning and retention. The best hands-on learning activities for kids are open-ended, versatile, and easily adaptable for all ages.

The following activities will work for any age and nearly any subject whether you’re looking for hands-on activities for middle school and high school students or ideas for your elementary kids.

Versatile Hands-on Activities for Kids

1. Build a Map

Increase understanding and help kids visualize history and geography with a 3-D map. Building maps helps kids understand things like why Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt appear mislabeled on a flat map.

Maps help them see the role that geography plays in wars, culture, and civilization. Try some of our favorite hands-on activities with maps such as:

2. Make Costumes

Kids love costumes, simple or elaborate. I’m no seamstress, so when my kids were little, we assembled store-bought costumes or simple, DIY options.

Sewing your own costumes provides hands-on learning for math skills as your child measures, figures out how much material she’ll need, and cuts out the pattern. Don’t forget to count this as home ec time!

3. Put on a Play or Puppet Show

From writing the script to building the set, kids practice a variety of skills as they prepare a puppet show or play. They learn dialogue, descriptive writing, oral communication, art, creativity, and more.

Performing the play and acting out the scenes they create, reinforces students’ understanding of the people, places, and events they’re studying.

4. Create a Presentation

Oral presentations make a fantastic alternative to written assessments. Preparing the presentation provides an opportunity for kids to review. Presenting it showcases what they learned (and may highlight areas you need to go over again).

Students can assemble an oral presentation with or without a presentation board, or they can try their hand at PowerPoint, a slideshow, or photo journaling.

5. Make a Paper Mâchè Model

Easily add hands-on learning to subjects like history, science, or geography with paper mache models. Build a model of the earth or even the whole solar system.

Way back in the day, my oldest created a paper mache Leaning Tower of Pisa when we studied Italy. I remember my cousin making a model of the Liberty Bell when he was a kid. There are so many creative possibilities!

Think about science models, historic landmarks, or replicas of key elements from a novel for a literature course.

6. Prepare a Themed Dinner

You probably first think of history or geography when considering a themed dinner, but with a little creativity, meals could represent concepts from science, math and other subjects.

Fix pizza and a round cookie cake when studying circumference. Make a pie for Pi Day. Bake an apple pie when you study Issac Newton.

7. Do a Paper Bag Book Report

Toss boring written book reports and try a paper bag book report instead. Kids start with a paper bag and add items that represent some aspect of the book (or a person’s life, a time in history, or an invention). Then, they pull out the items, one by one, and recap the highlights of the book as they explain the significance of each.

8. Make a Lapbook or Notebook

One popular, hands-on method of showcasing what kids have learned is assembling a lapbook. You can make your own lapbooks or try a variety of ready-made lapbook sets.

If your kids aren’t fans of lapbooking (mine aren’t), let them make a story notebook or notebooking instead.

9. Build a Diorama or Model

My kids used to love building dioramas for different biomes (like the ocean or dessert), but you can adapt these little shoebox models for many different purposes.

If dioramas aren’t your thing, try other model options like a construction paper representation of Earth’s layers, a shoebox lid Roman road replica, or an edible cell model. Just don’t drop it!

10. Create Art

Your kid doesn’t have to be an artist, and his projects don’t have to be elaborate. Encourage him to choose something that represents some aspect of the topic he’s studying. He might try a collage of vertebrates if studying mammals or a painting of sea creatures for marine biology.

Kids can make their own cave paintings on paper bags. Let them create a mixed media masterpiece depicting a historical event or famous person or try their hand at sculpting with clay.

11. Write an ABC Book

Don’t skip this idea just because you have high school students! ABC books make a versatile tool for all ages. Use blank board books or homemade books to create an ABC story on any topic. The older your student, the more detail you can require for the book.

Your student can create a math ABC book – A is for angle, B is for base, and C is for circumference.

Try geography – A is for archipelago, B is for beach, and C is for canal.

The possibilities for ABC book topics are endless!

12. Play Games

Games make a fun, low-key way to learn new topics or review concepts. Bingo, matching, memory, or fishing are some of my favorite, easily adaptable, DIY games for almost any subject.

For fishing, tie a magnet to a dowel rod with a piece of twine. Then, put paper clips on index-card “fish” or cut fun fish shapes from construction paper. When kids catch the fish, they have to read or define the word, explain the concept, or answer a question based on what you wrote on the card.

You can also use your imagination, a pack of index cards, and the board from most board games to create your own homemade learning games. Jeopardy is a fantastic game for teens and tweens or try Periodic Table Battleship.

13. Take a Field Trip

We’ve done everything from caves (for geology) to a replica of one of Columbus’ ships (history) to an emergency room (health and safety). We’ve even done an official (as opposed to a homeschool stereotype) field trip to a grocery store.

Heading out to see the things you’ve been studying in person is one of the best hands-on learning activities around. Simple, stress-free homeschool field trip planning tips make a group outing a breeze. Try my field trip ideas for middle school and high school students or get some fantastic field trip ideas for preschoolers.

Hands-on activities for kids and teens make learning fun and memorable – plastic army men and 5-year-old innocent bystanders not required.https://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/encounter-with-a-homeschooler/

What are some versatile hands-on activities that you and your kids enjoy?

Like these ideas? Discover more in my subscriber exclusive, Hands-On Learning, a 54-page e-book with 10 hands-on activities featuring full-color step-by-step tutorials. It’s free for subscribers!

Using Mini-offices in Your Homeschool

September 24, 2018 By Kris Bales

When my kids were little, mini-offices were all the rage in homeschools and classrooms. A while back, I referred to them in a blog post and was surprised to learn that there are people who have never heard of a mini-office.

I’m not going to lie. It made me feel a little old.

So, I decided that I needed to fix that. I mean, people not knowing about mini-offices. I don’t think there’s much I can do about getting old.

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What Are Mini-Offices?

Mini-offices are really similar to anchor charts that are all the rage now (with the hip young parents – I didn’t know what they were until last week). A mini-office is two or more file folders glued or stapled together and filled with helpful tips, reference charts, and resources for students.

A mini-office helps a student focus on the task at hand, and the resources inside allow him to work more independently than he might otherwise be able to on his own. He’s got a quick reference for things like the spelling of common words or place value.

Old-school mini-offices are also beneficial to homeschooled kids who often school at the dining room table with several siblings. Because the file folders stand up, they give students some personal space and limit the distraction siblings may cause.

How to Create a Mini-Office

I based the original mini-offices that I created for Josh and Megan on the writing center Brianna used. All you need to create a mini-office is:

two or more file folders (I like using the brightly colored ones)
Scissors
Glue
Printables

First, lay the two folders flat so that the right side of the first folder overlaps the left side of the second, creating three sections. Glue the overlapped sections together. (You can also staple them or use packing tape.)

The two overlapped parts form the middle of the mini-office. You may need to trim the file folder tabs so that the office will close flat.

Next, cut out a variety of charts, tables, and resources for whatever your kids are working on. My kids had a writing mini-office and a math mini-office.

Types of Mini-Offices

When the kids were younger, one of my big goals was to avoid invented spelling in their writing. No, there’s nothing inherently wrong with invented spelling, but because Josh has dyslexia, when he was little it was easy to get a misspelling stuck in his head.

So, their writing mini-office had a word wall and other spelling resources, along with writing resources such as a 5W’s hand so that they could remember to include who, what, where, when, and why.

A math mini-office might consist of:

a 100 number chart
a multiplication or addition table
ordinal numbers
colors
months and days
coin values
shapes

It might also include a map of the United States just because I thought it was nifty.

Mini-offices aren’t necessarily just for young children either. An older student might appreciate a file folder with reference tools such as:

mathematical order of operations
formulas for finding an area, perimeter, or slope
Periodic Table of Elements
Classification chart
Strong verbs

Math Mini-Office Resources

Look for resources for your mini-offices wherever you find your favorite printables, such as Teachers Pay Teachers or Mama’s Learning Corner.

Two great sites for mini-office printables are Teaching Heart (warning: the site is old school – it’s my original spot for printables) and Jessica Meacham’s Mini Offices (also an original, but the site has been updated).

For specific printables that I used, other than Teaching Heart and Jessica Meacham, check out these resources:

Flying to Learn (for the color words I was going to use, but I needed a smaller one – this one is super-cute, though)
Hamburger paragraph printable
Multiplication table
Math operations
Complete sentence buddy
Vivid verbs

Come on, y’all. Bring back mini-offices! I hope your kids love them as much as mine did. The mini-offices are something that Josh and Megan both remember.

Have you ever used mini-offices before? If so, are you old like me? {grin}