Creative Teaching » Homeschooling http://www.fascinate-educate.com Useful tips and suggestions from Fascinate-Educate. Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:51:21 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Black History Timeline and Famous People http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2009/02/09/black-history-timeline-and-famous-people/ http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2009/02/09/black-history-timeline-and-famous-people/#comments Tue, 10 Feb 2009 06:51:56 +0000 Jo http://www.fascinate-educate.com/?p=5544 February is Black History Month, so my 10-year-old son is going to make an African-American book.

Below are the people we are going to study:

Groups:

This is the timeline that we are using for our African-American unit:

African-American Web sites for kids:

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]]> http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2009/02/09/black-history-timeline-and-famous-people/feed/ 0 Types of Writing http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/11/19/types-of-writing/ http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/11/19/types-of-writing/#comments Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:01:57 +0000 Jo http://www.fascinate-educate.com/?p=5212
  • Writing Ideas for Kites Make a kite book with your child. It can be...
    • ]]>     As part of my homeschooling—and gift-giving—I am going to teach my son that there are different types of writing. We have different types of writing for different reasons. Some are informal—such as friendly letters and silly poems—and some are formal—such as letters from attorneys and nonfiction reports for school.

    Anyway, I wanted a list of the different types of writing at my fingertips. I will use this blog entry many times over the years to make sure I am not teaching the same type of writing over and over. Again, I hope these sites help you and yours in your writing adventures!

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    ]]>     http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/11/19/types-of-writing/feed/ 1     Types of Poems http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/11/19/types-of-poems/ http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/11/19/types-of-poems/#comments Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:40:32 +0000 Jo http://www.fascinate-educate.com/?p=5137 I was trying to figure out what kinds of poems to write for personal Christmas gifts, so I compiled a list of different kinds of poems. I am going to use this blog entry throughout the year as my son writes more poetry.

    Hope these sites help you as they have helped me!

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    ]]>     http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/11/19/types-of-poems/feed/ 6     American Indian Unit http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/29/american-indian-unit/ http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/29/american-indian-unit/#comments Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:10:52 +0000 Jo http://www.fascinate-educate.com/?p=4034 November is National American Indian Heritage Month. I am going to help my son make an American Indian book as he works his way through this fifth-grade unit. I will use a three-ring binder, and each Indian tribe will be a separate chapter. I am going to use some of the pages for his book from Easy File Folder Reports (Evan-Moor Publishing).

    For each group of Indians, my son will research and note their language, religion, diet, dwelling, clothing, transportation, and areas they lived. He will also list the sources for his information.

    Below are the Indians and Indian-related facts that my son will be learning about (due to time limitations, we won’t cover every Indian tribe in the US):

    I will be using the book What Your Fifth Grader Needs to Know (edited by E. D. Hirsch, Jr. / Delta Education), which has the following topics (additional information is available at the listed Web sites):

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    ]]>     http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/29/american-indian-unit/feed/ 1     Books to Make with Children http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/25/books-to-make-with-children/ http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/25/books-to-make-with-children/#comments Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:02:51 +0000 Jo http://www.fascinate-educate.com/?p=4168
  • Writing Ideas for Kites Make a kite book with your child. It can be...
    • ]]>     November includes many special days, including “Children’s Book Week”. There are tons of different types of books you can make with your children. Creating a variety of books with your children makes writing much more interesting and motivational for them!

    The following are different types of “books” you can make with children:

    Here is a list of useful resources for making books with children:

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    ]]>     http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/25/books-to-make-with-children/feed/ 0     “Things to do Instead of Watching TV” Book http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/18/things-to-do-instead-of-watching-tv-book/ http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/18/things-to-do-instead-of-watching-tv-book/#comments Sat, 18 Oct 2008 06:07:39 +0000 Jo http://www.fascinate-educate.com/?p=3759 This is a very simple book for a child to make. Just type the phrases below (one per page) and print them out. Ask your child to fill in the blanks and do what he/she wrote on the page. Take pictures of your child being productive, or ask your child to draw a picture.

    Things to Do Instead of TV Book

    Cover: Things to do Instead of Watching TV

    Arrange _________

    Befriend _________

    Count _________

    Dance to _________

    Enjoy _________

    Figure out how to _________

    Give _________

    Have a _________

    Imagine _________

    Jump for joy because _________

    Keep a journal of _________

    Listen to _________

    Make a _________

    Narrate _________

    Observe _________

    Play _________

    Question things that _________

    Read _________

    Sing a _________

    Take a walk _________

    Use _________

    Visit _________

    Write a _________

    X out negative _________

    Yearn to _________

    Zip up your jacket and _________

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    ]]>     http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/18/things-to-do-instead-of-watching-tv-book/feed/ 0     Encyclopedia of Explorers http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/17/encyclopedia-of-explorers/ http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/17/encyclopedia-of-explorers/#comments Sat, 18 Oct 2008 05:56:01 +0000 Jo http://www.fascinate-educate.com/?p=3585 My son is going to make his own encyclopedia of explorers. Before he begins, he is going to look at real encyclopedias and read the definition of an encyclopedia.

    For each explorer, he will print out interesting facts along with their picture and write a summary.

    The following explorers are going to be in our encyclopedia:

    1. Wikipedia: Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.
    2. Wikipedia: Neil A. Armstrong
    3. Wikipedia: Lucas Vasquez de Ayllón
    4. Wikipedia: William Baffin
    5. Wikipedia: Vasco Núñez de Balboa
    6. Wikipedia: Robert Bartlett
    7. Wikipedia: Charles William Beebe
    8. Wikipedia: Vitus Bering
    9. Wikipedia: Daniel Boone
    10. Wikipedia: James Bowie
    11. Wikipedia: James Bridger
    12. Wikipedia: James Bruce
    13. Wikipedia: Robert O’Hara Burke
    14. Wikipedia: Sir Richard Francis Burton
    15. Wikipedia: Richard E. Byrd
    16. Wikipedia: John Cabot
    17. Wikipedia: Pedro Álvares Cabral
    18. San Diego Historical Society: Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
    19. Wikipedia: René Auguste Caillié
    20. Wikipedia: Kit Carson
    21. Wikipedia: Jacques Cartier
    22. Wikipedia: Samuel de Champlain
    23. Wikipedia: Hugh Clapperton
    24. Wikipedia: Christopher Columbus (In 1492 Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue)
    25. Wikipedia: James Cook
    26. Wikipedia: Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
    27. Wikipedia: Hernán Cortés
    28. Wikipedia: Jacques-Yves Cousteau
    29. Wikipedia: William Dampier
    30. Enchanted Learning: Hernando de Soto
    31. Wikipedia: Bartholomeu Dias
    32. Wikipedia: Sir Francis Drake
    33. HighBeam Encyclopedia: Daniel Greysolon Duluth, sieur
    34. Wikipedia: Leif Ericson
    35. Wikipedia: Edward John Eyre
    36. Wikipedia: Sir John Franklin
    37. Wikipedia: John C. Frémont
    38. Wikipedia: Sir Martin Frobisher
    39. Wikipedia: Yuri Gagarin
    40. Wikipedia: Vasco da Gama
    41. Wikipedia: Louis Hennepin
    42. Wikipedia: Sir Edmund Hillary
    43. Wikipedia: Henry Hudson
    44. Wikipedia: Louis Jolliet
    45. Wikipedia: Sieur de La Salle
    46. Wikipedia: Alexey Leonov
    47. Wikipedia: Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
    48. Wikipedia: David Livingstone
    49. Wikipedia: James A. Lovell, Jr.
    50. Wikipedia: Ferdinand Magellan
    51. Wikipedia: Jacques Marquette
    52. Zegrahm & Eco Expeditions: Shirley Metz
    53. BBC News: Victoria Murden
    54. Wikipedia: Tenzing Norgay
    55. Wikipedia: Mungo Park
    56. Wikipedia: Robert E. Peary
    57. Wikipedia: Zebulon Pike
    58. Wikipedia: Francisco Pizarro
    59. Wikipedia: John Wesley Powell
    60. Wikipedia: Sir Walter Raleigh
    61. Wikipedia: Robert Falcon Scott
    62. Wikipedia: Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton
    63. Wikipedia: Jedediah Strong Smith
    64. Wikipedia: Hernando de Soto
    65. Wikipedia: John Hanning Speke
    66. Wikipedia: Sir Henry Morton Stanley
    67. Wikipedia: John McDouall Stuart
    68. Wikipedia: Charles Sturt
    69. Wikipedia: Abel Janszoon Tasman
    70. Wikipedia: David Thompson
    71. Wikipedia: Henri de Tonti
    72. Wikipedia: Giovanni da Verrazzano
    73. Wikipedia: Amerigo Vespucci
    74. Wikipedia: Peter Egerton Warburton
    75. Wikipedia: Charles Wilkes
    76. Wikipedia: William John Wills

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    ]]>     http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/17/encyclopedia-of-explorers/feed/ 0     Types of Journal Writing http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/17/types-of-journal-writing/ http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/17/types-of-journal-writing/#comments Sat, 18 Oct 2008 03:03:18 +0000 Jo http://www.fascinate-educate.com/?p=3573
  • Writing Ideas for Kites Make a kite book with your child. It can be...
    • ]]>     Here are some types of journals for children to write:

    • Daily journal: Write down what happened that day.
    • Food journal: Write down everything you ate during the day.
    • Homework journal: Write down all homework assignments and keep track of each completed assignment by placing a check mark next to it.
    • Progress journal: Write down the things that you want to improve about yourself, such as healthy lifestyle choices, sports, and grades.
    • Creative writing journal: Write down whatever you want to write about. You can clip interesting articles and pictures to keep in your journal. Write down whatever comes to mind. Many times ideas that don’t seem to go anywhere now will inspire you later!
    • Spending journal: Write down everything you buy and how much each costs. (I know…ouch!)
    • Clothes journal: Write down everything you have in your closet, what you need to buy and what you need to donate or sell.
    • TV journal: Write down everything you watch on TV.

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    ]]>     http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/17/types-of-journal-writing/feed/ 1     Story Starters and Writing Tips http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/15/story-starters-and-writing-tips/ http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/15/story-starters-and-writing-tips/#comments Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:20:26 +0000 Jo http://www.fascinate-educate.com/?p=3569
  • Writing Ideas for Kites Make a kite book with your child. It can be...
    • ]]>     Here are some more story starters….

    • Write a letter to yourself to be read 10 years from now.
    • Write about your best/worst day ever.
    • Make a poster about yourself.
    • Describe the best present you ever received.
    • Make a list of things seen, heard, and felt at a particular place.
    • Draw a picture of your family and write about them.
    • Create a list of things that make you smile.
    • Create a recipe for a new dish.
    • Write a story about a place you’ve never been.
    • Write a story about your toys coming to life.
    • Make a thank you card for someone who has been nice to you.
    • Write a story about a person you know.
    • Make a list of your best qualities.
    • Make a poster on how to protect the earth.
    • Write a story about each of the four seasons.
    • Write a story about one of the planets.
    • Make a list of things you do well.
    • Write about something that scared you.
    • Write a story about your favorite animal.
    • Write a different ending to a book you’ve read.
    • Draw a main character and write three words that describe him/her.
    • Make a list of things for which you are thankful.
    • Make a list of your favorite things.
    • Write a story of what you would do if you were the president.
    • Write how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

    Here are some tips to improve your child’s writing ideas:

    • Use words that involve the five senses, such as “gurgle” for sound, “slippery” for touch, “cloudy” for sight, “musty” for smell, or “peppery” for taste.
    • Delete words that are overused, such as “very”, “and”, “every”, “good”, “lots”, “got”, “then”, “fun”, “nice”, and “said”.
    • Use similes, which are direct comparisons utilizing the word “like” or “as”. For example: “He was as busy as a bee.” and “She growled like a bear.”
    • Use metaphors, which are comparisons that substitute an object or idea for another. For example: “All the world’s a stage.”
    • Use personifications, which bestow traits upon objects or ideas. For example: “The thunder grabbed my attention.”

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    ]]>     http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/15/story-starters-and-writing-tips/feed/ 0     Feed the Frog (Teaching Sight Words) http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/15/feed-the-frog-teaching-sight-words/ http://www.fascinate-educate.com/2008/10/15/feed-the-frog-teaching-sight-words/#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:30:02 +0000 Jo http://www.fascinate-educate.com/?p=3546 I made a “Feed the Frog” game to teach children the basic sight words, which make up about 1/3 of all printed material. These words are: a, and, are, as, at, be, for, have, he, his, I, in, is, it, of, on, one, that, the, they, this, to, was, with, & you.

    Here’s how I made the frog:

    Feed the Frog (Frog)

    1. I drew (or to be honest, my husband drew) a frog on green foam sheet and cut him out. I also cut out the frog’s mouth.
    2. I took a piece of red foam sheet and cut it so that the rectangle fitted on the back of the frog.
    3. I cut out squares on all four corners of the rectangle and folded them up to form a box.
    4. I hot-glued halfway up the corner edges to secure the corners.
    5. I bent over the remaining sides to form a “lip” for the outer edges. (It kind of looks like a cake pan.)
    6. I hot-glued the red “cake pan” to the back of the frog and trimmed the “lip” where it wasn’t attached to the frog.

    Here’s how I made the bugs:

    Sample Bug Words

    1. I found a clip-art bug that I liked.
    2. Using a computer drawing program, I put each basic sight word on a separate bug so that I had 25 bugs.
    3. I printed out the bugs on sheets of paper and laminated the sheets.
    4. I cut out each bug by hand. (Yes, it was a bit of a pain, but when I saw how much fun my kids had with them, it was worth it!)

    There are many ways to use this game. My children would pick a bug out of a bag (see image below), say the word, and “feed the frog” the word. If the child did not know the word, another child or an adult could help, or the child could put the word back into the bag until help was available.

    Bag to Hold Bug Words

    It was a lot of fun to watch children play this game. I would pair them up: one child who was struggling with the words, and another who knew all of the words. These teams knew my rules well and knew that they were never allowed to criticize each other. If their partner did not know a word, they would be a team helper and tell the struggling child the word.

    Some children made “ribbit” sounds as the frog ate, or made the frog burp after it ate all the bugs. I was okay with that because I knew if the frog was full, the children’s minds were growing and filling up also (burp!).

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