So, you want to homeschool your kids, but people are telling you it’s going to be expensive, right? They’re so wrong! Learn how to homeschool for for free using these and other resources.
Use a Free Online Curriculum There are tons of sources if you’re looking for a free online curriculum. Some of my favorites include Easy Peasy All In One Homeschool, Easy Peasy All In One High School, and Khan Academy. However, these are far from the only resources. Do a web search for free online curriculum or free homeschool curriculum to find even more. Amazon also has some great resources if you do an Amazon search for “free homeschool”. Some are free books or curriculum resources and others teach you more about how to homeschool for free. Make Use of Free Printable Homeschool Worksheets There are many sites out there with free printable worksheets for teachers and homeschoolers. Look for them in every grade level, concept, and subject. We even have free printable worksheets here at Heart and Mind Homeschool. You don’t want to base your child’s education solely on worksheets. However, they can definitely play a big part, as it helps them learn and practice each concept. Write the Lessons Yourself, Based on State Standards Whether you choose to write all of the lessons yourself or just some, it’s a rewarding experience. Creating them based on your child’s needs is not only free but beneficial to your child’s homeschool education. To find your state’s standards, visit the department of education for your specific state. They each have different standards and requirements. You’ll also need to check with that same department or board for the appropriate laws and regulations. Utilize Free Events and Free Days at Zoos, Museums, & More Many zoos, museums, state parks, farms, factories, and other venues hold free days. If you look around, there also free events for kids going on all the time in most areas. These are awesome when it comes to homeschooling for free. If you check ahead of time, you can pair them with your child’s lessons to get even more from the experience. Make Use of Free Online Videos and Lectures Did you know there are bucket loads of free educational videos and lectures all over the web? Do a search and see what you come up with. Some of our favorites include WatchKnowLearn, NeoK12, PBS, DiscoveryKids, History.com, Open Yale Courses, MIT Open Courseware, and SchoolTube. Don’t limit your kids to these choices. There are tons more out there. Have fun exploring and learning together with the help of fun and informative videos made by kids, parents, teachers, and more. Homeschooling for free is actually quite easy to do, if you you get creative. Use these ideas or come up with your own. Whatever you do, learn and have fun! Does your child know his neighborhood well? Not just the street you live on, but knowledge of the entire neighborhood is important. If your child ever gets lost, he should know how to get home. Neighborhood knowledge is essential for kids of all ages, but is usually taught in Kindergarten. Use this free homeschool lesson to teach your child all about his neighborhood.
Teach your child his address. This and the phone number are extremely important for your child to know. Not only is it the first step in learning about the neighborhood, but it will also be helpful if your child ever gets lost. I like to use songs to teach the kids their address. Make up a catchy tune that goes along well with the sound of your home address. Sing it to your child and have him sing along too. Also have your child practice writing down the address on paper. Take walks often. This is a simple, but useful way of teaching your child about the neighborhood. Getting around by foot and by car are two different things. Your child can become more familiar with the area, including parts that can only be seen by walking. This provides a good visual for map-making and studying. Don't forget to collect things from nature on the walk that you can use in other school projects. Show them where the police and fire stations are located. Your child needs to learn where these important destinations are located. Even if your child is young, there may be a time when he needs the information. A child may get lost, kidnapped, or have another emergency. Knowing where these are located can help him in many situations. Make a simple map. Draw a simple map of your neighborhood, making sure to include your house, anything surrounding it, and any landmarks, such as a fire station, library, museum, and stores. Have your child study the map. You can point out certain things as well as have him point out certain things to you. Talk about how to get to each place and have him tell you directions as well. Let the child make his own map after the above activities. Use home, stores, and trusted neighbors as safe havens. Talk your child about strangers and where they can go if they are in danger. Young children should always be with an adult. But emergencies can happen and they need to know what to do. Talk to your child about specific scenarios and locations and give them a breakdown about which places are safe to go in each situation. For instance, while the home is generally a safe haven, if there's an emergency and you are injured or cannot help, there should be a trusted nearby neighbor, store, or police station the child can go to. Looking for free educational activities for homeschoolers in Houston? As a mom to many, who lived and homeschooled in Houston for a while, I discovered lots of great places to go. Here are 5 of the most interesting free educational activities for Houston kids.
The Sam Houston Boat Tour is great free activity for kids in Houston.Operated by the Port of Houston Authority, the free educational tour lasts 90 minutes. While on the tour, homeschoolers can observe international cargo vessels that may pass by, as well as the operations at the port terminal. While free, reservations for this Houston activity must be made in advance. The Health Museum in Houston contains a variety of educational exhibits for children to explore.This interactive science exploration is for all ages. It focuses on the human body, mind, and spirit, encouraging kids to focus on health. On Thursdays, the general admission is free for families from 2pm - 7pm. At Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens, kids can enjoy the education and beauty of nature. Native and cultivated plants thrive in this 300 acre horticultural museum of life. In addition to learning about the plants by observation, Houston homeschoolers also can enjoy the educational benefits of observing the animals that live in this park. Utilize the Kids Workshops at Home Depot to their full advantage. Once per month, the Home Depot locations in Houston offer free workshops for kids, in which they get to learn and build projects that they can use. These educational workshops are not only free of charge, but are a great supplement to homeschool wood shop. They also work as an extracurricular educational activity for Houston kids in both homeschool and traditional school. Free Crafts for Kids are offered every Saturday from 11am - 3pm at Houston Lakeshore Learning Store locations. Yes, crafts are so much fun for kids. But, did you know that they also have educational value? Craft activities can help homeschoolers with focus, creativity, and fine motor skills. These skills all are required to complete other educational activities. Houston kids will enjoy creating fun and educational crafts that they can use to decorate their rooms, give as gifts, wear, and more. A different craft is featured every week. Free Educational Content for PreK-12 on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr is a special day to celebrate equality among all people. Teaching children about Dr. King is vital to their education. Here you will find a collection of a wide variety of stories, songs, activities, worksheets, and more to celebrate MLK Day. While Martin Luther's King's actual birthday is January 15 (1929), it is observed on the 3rd Monday in January every year. It is a federal holiday.
Free Martin Luther King Jr Acrostic Poem Worksheet Acrostic poems are those where you use each letter in the name of a person or object to build the poem. Teach-nology.com has a wonderful MLK acrostic poem worksheet and also a variety of other printables. Some are free and some require registration. Free MLK Worksheets Ed-helper.com has a large variety of MLK activity worksheets, lessons, timelines, stories, and more. There are MLK materials for a variety of subjects and grade levels. Ed-Helper.com also has a variety of lessons and worksheets on other subjects. Free Civil Rights Songs NPR has a wonderful interactive history post on the Songs of the Civil Rights Movement. One can click on each song underneath the historical info. There is also much more history to be found on this interesting website. Free MLK Lesson Plans Here is a collection of free Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lesson Plans from around the web. "I Have a Dream" Collective Banner (K-2) MLK Jr Theme (Pre-K) MLK Jr Timelines (3rd-5th, 6th-8th) MLK Jr Theme (varied ages) MLK Jr and Me (K-2) Martin Luther King, Jr. Lesson Plans and Activities Free MLK Stories, Games, Crafts, & Activities There are many fun games, activities, stories, and crafts around the web to learn about and celebrate Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement. Here is a collection of those which I consider some of the best. Civil Rights Movement Game MLK Poem Preschool Coloring Book Pages More MLK Color Pages Printable MLK Book MLK Crafts MLK Activities and More MLK Online Books Know of another MLK resource? Just have something to say? This author welcomes feedback and discussion in the comments section below. February is Black History Month. During Black History Month, kids all over will learn about important contributions to American and World History by African Americans. Parents and teachers (homeschool and traditional) alike can help their kids and students learn about Black History with free printables, such as coloring pages, stories, worksheets, and activities.
Free printables can be a great teaching resource for Black History Month and all year long. They can be combined for an entire unit, used as stand-alones, or even used as fun time slot fillers, extra credit, or supplemental unit lessons. Free printables are great for parents, teachers, and homeschoolers because they often offer quality lessons with no additional costs. This resource is packed full of free black history month printables, lesson plans, and more. Teachers, homeschoolers, and parents can utilize these free printable black history month coloring pages, activities, and lessons for varied grade levels. This guide contains much more than just printables. Free Printable Martin Luther King, Jr. Coloring Pages Martin Luther King is an extremely important leader in black history. As such, children should learn about his contributions. Enjoy these free printable coloring pages around the web featuring the prominent civil rights leader, MLK. Free Black History Month Printables at Teacher Vision Teacher Vision has a great selection of free black history month printables for all ages. Visit this resource for lessons and printables featuring Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, famous Black American scientists, African folktales, music lessons, printable coloring books, and much more. Free Black History Month Printable Lessons at Lesson Plans Page Lessons Plans Page is a user-created resource, featuring a wide variety of printable lesson plans on black history and other subjects. Use this resource for printable lessons on Harriet Tubman, MLK, equality, slavery, and more. Free Black History Month Printables at Family Education FamilyEducation.com has an interesting selection of free printables and resources for Black History Month. These are for varied age levels. Visit this resource to find printables, quizzes, lesson plans, coloring pages, activities, and more for Black History Month. Free Black History Month Printables at The Teacher’s Corner Here, you’ll find many free printables for Black History Month. Find free Black History Month printables on famous Black Americans including journal pages, word scrambles, crossword puzzles, word searches, matchups, and more. Free Black History Month Printables at ABC Teach ABCTeach.com features an assortment of printables on Black History Month. Find printables on Louis Armstrong, Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall, George Washington Carver, Abraham Lincoln, and more. Printables include worksheets, stories, facts, organizers, report planners, research planners, famous speeches, word searches, word walls, writing paper, writing prompts, posters, and more. *I originally published a version of this via Yahoo Contributor Network Running a homeschool woodworking class is not as difficult as it may seem at first glance - even if neither parent knows anything about working with wood or what to buy. It does make it easier to teach the class if at least one parent has experience working with wood, but concepts can be learned together during the process. Sometimes that is even part of the fun. Hands-on practice often produces the best of lessons, as does trial and error. There will be plenty of both in woodworking.
Part of homeschooling is the opportunity for one-on-one teacher/child interaction, as well as learning together as parents and child. Another benefit to homeschooling is the unique opportunity to incorporate any class that the child is interested in. There is virtually no limit on choices, as there is no worry about whether it is offered at your child's school. You are your child's school, in more ways than one. If you need wood shop lesson ideas, visit your local home improvement store, where free do-it-yourself guides can often be found. Another way to find ideas is by visiting wood shop and woodworking websites. There are plenty of them all over the web. Just doing a simple search for "wood shop projects" will yield a great variety. To get you started, here is a list of basic materials, as well as instructions for 10 simple, fun, and useful wood shop projects. Basic Homeschooling Woodshop Materials Not every project will require the same materials and you may sometimes find yourself purchasing additional materials for certain projects. However, the below tools and materials are commonly used in wood shop or woodworking classes: C-clamp, workbench, wood saw, staple gun, hammer, screwdriver, 14v power drill with bits, screws (assorted sizes), nails (assorted sizes), wood glue, sander, sandpaper, wood-burning kit, Dremel kit, wood (various types - as needed per project), scrap wood (keep after projects for practicing with), scissors, hobby knife, table saw, measuring tape, contractor's pencil Basic Homeschooling Woodshop Safety Safety in a wood shop first starts with knowing your tools and materials and how to use them properly. Also be sure to wear safety glasses and a dust mask during every project, even small steps. You never know what is going to happen. Watch fingers around electrical devices and cutting devices. Adults should operate any heavy machinery or power equipment. Also check age guidelines. Adhere strictly to manufacturer's safety guidelines on any electrical or battery-operated tools and devices. Ear muffs are also a good idea. They will keep out saw dust, as well as cancel out some of the noise from the machinery. A safety class should be held before giving any other classes. It is also important to test on this, as well as follow up on it periodically and hold a safety session before each project on safety related to that specific project and the tools required for building it. Always be sure all equipment is turned off, unplugged, and out of reach of children. Keep cords rolled up and out of the way. Keep chemicals, like turpentine out of reach of children. Many materials and tools used in wood shop can be dangerous, so be sure they are not easily accessible to a child. Be sure all sawdust is swept up and anything else used is cleaned up right away. This is not intended to be a complete safety guide. Always follow safety guidelines of each tool or material you are using and use your best judgment. Free Homeschooling Woodshop Projects: Bulletin Board A bulletin board is a very simple woodworking project that beginners can try their hand at. With the help of a free lesson plan from UniqueProjects.com, homeschooling parents can teach their kids how to make a bulletin board. A bulletin board is a great wood shop project, as the completed product can be used for class. To make the simple version, materials required will be fabric, plywood, paint, thumb tacks, ribbon, brads, hobby knife, wood saw, staple gun, measuring tape, and scissors. For measurements and complete instructions, view the free guide. Free Homeschooling Woodshop Projects: Jewelry Trinket Box A jewelry trinket box makes a great Mother's Day or Christmas gift for that special woman. With the help of a free lesson plan from U-Bild.com, a homeschooling parent can help their child create this wood shop project. Materials include maple, maple molding, butt hinges, small box lock, wood glue, and finish. Measurements are given in the free downloadable lesson guide. Free Homeschooling Woodshop Projects: Tissue Box Cover Tired of that cardboard look on your tissue boxes? Try making a wooden tissue box cover.Happy Woodworkers has a free project plan that homeschooling dads and moms can use for wood shop class. To make this wooden tissue box cover, you will need a jigsaw, a hammer, sandpaper, clamps, 3d nails, wood filler, wood glue, stain, varnish, and plywood. Measurements and specifications are in the free lesson. Free Homeschooling Woodshop Projects: Step Stool Have a little one who's potty training? Maybe someone's just a tad too short to reach the kitchen sink or cabinets. CanadianHomeWorkshop.com has free instructions for building a simple step stool that a 2 year old actually helped construct. Materials for this project are a sander, a handsaw, a coping saw, screws, a drill, linseed oil, turpentine, tung oil, and pine. Measurements and specifications can be found in the instructions. Free Homeschooling Woodshop Projects: Toy Box Toys starting to overfill their current location? How about making them a new toybox? Courtesy of azwoodman.com, homeschooling parents can get a free project plan for a wooden toy box. Tools and materials required are a handsaw or circular saw, combination square, screwdriver, drill, finish sander, bit set, jigsaw, 3 pieces of lumber, plywood, strap hinges with screws, corner braces with screws, sandpaper, wood glue, finish, four plate casters, thick and soft rope, and furniture gliders. See the free project guide for measurements and specifications. Free Homeschooling Woodshop Projects: Bread Box Tired of accidentally smashing your bread inside the pantry? A bread box can fix that problem. Am-wood.com has an easy and free step-by-step project plan for a simple bread box. Tools and materials required are a drill, sander, router, jigsaw, pine lumber, plywood, dowel, and a knob handle. Measurements and specifications can be found in the instructions. Free Homeschooling Woodshop Projects: Key Holder If mom's lost her keys around the house one too many times, you may consider making her a key holder. At LeesWoodProjects.com, homeschooling moms and dads can find a simple keyholder project to use for wood shop class with their kids. If something more complex is desired, Lee's Wood Projects also has another design that doubles as a mail and key holder. For the simple key holder, materials required are a small piece of walnut wood, metal key hooks, poster board, scissors, hobby knife, drill, sand paper, and file. See the free project plan for measurements and specifications. Free Homeschooling Woodshop Projects: Bookshelf Books starting to stack up everywhere but a shelf? This is a handy project that can help clear some clutter around the house when it's finished. Homeschooling parents can download a free wood shop project plan for a simple, traditional bookshelf in PDF form from MinWax.com. Clicking on the link will open the PDF file. Materials and tools required for this project include a small crosscut saw, pine lumber, plywood, screws, brads, shelf pins, finish, a block plane, pipe or bar clamps, combination square, carpenter's square, screwdriver, nails, pencil, wood glue, hobby knife, sander, saber saw, router, table saw, and a drill or power screwdriver. Measurements and specifications can be found in the free PDF. Free Homeschooling Woodshop Projects: Paper Towel Holder Paper towel racks are useful in many households. Unfortunately, it is a hard to find one that isn't plastic these days. So, why not make one? It's simple and fun. FreeTowelHolderPlans.com has a great free wood project homeschooling dads and moms can enjoy using with their kids. It can be viewed on the website or downloaded in PDF form. The choice is yours. Materials required are lumber, dowel rod or towel bar, screws, finishing nails, leaf hinges with screws, router, sander, double-stick tape, bandsaw, lathe, and drill. See the free guide for measurements and specifications. Free Homeschooling Woodshop Projects: Magazine Rack Tired of magazines being scattered across floors, furniture, and countertops? A magazine rack is a great , helpful project. Instructables.com has a fancy, but simple free project plan for a magazine rack. Homeschooling dads can appreciate presenting this one to the kids because it is not your ordinary magazine rack. Materials required are plywood, white paper, square, meter, pencil, modeling saw, hammer, nails, wood glue, elastic bands, heavy objects to use as press, and 4 pivoting wheels. Measurements and specifications can be found in the free lesson. by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff Variety and a dash of fun can give kids a running start when it comes to learning. This is especially rue when learning math, as many kids aren't exactly enthused about it. Because I am a parent and a home school teacher, I often invent fun learning games for the kids. This free homeschool math game called Fast Cashier is easy to make on the spot with materials you already have. It can help with computation skills in multiplication, decimals, counting, addition, subtraction, and other math operations.
Materials
Game Setup Find a small table, crate, or other object to place a play cash register on. If you don't have one, you can form a makeshift one with a shoebox or other container you may have handy. Arrange the play money in the cash register. Be sure to have bills and coins separated according to value just like a real cash register. Set up some items to 'purchase' in another area of the room. Label the toys and item with prices. Yard sale stickers work great for this, as does masking tape and a pen. Have one child (or adult) stand behind the cash register to man it. Everyone else gets a shopping bag to place the toys in, as well as some play money. Use dollars and coins. Playing the Fast Cashier Homeschool Math Game Once the kids are ready, shout or blow a whistle for them to start. The kids with the bags need to choose their items quickly and place them in their bags. Once they have what they want, they line up at the cash register. The cashier then has to ring them all up as quickly as possible. This requires getting the correct total for all of the items, as well as counting back the change correctly. Have the children trade duties back and forth so that each child gets a turn at being cashier. What Can Kids Learn From Playing Fast Cashier? This game will help children practice money-counting and decimal addition skills. Encourage multiplication skills when there is more than one item priced the same. Addition, subtraction, and decimals will naturally be used in adding prices and figuring change. In addition to math skills, Fast Cashier can help teach organization, teamwork, coordination, and more. All of these skills will be needed throughout school, as well as life in general. *I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network. by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff Directions: Read the story below. Then, remember what happens in the story to answer the questions. To print, highlight the text section, then right click and choose "print selection. If you don't mind printing the images, you may also select file, then print. Some systems may require that you copy/paste the text into another program before printing if you choose to leave out the images.
Marge's New Blue Hat Marge woke up happy. It was Saturday. Today was going to be great. She would get a new hat today. Marge was very excited. She could hardly wait. While she put on her best outfit, she wondered what kind of hat she would pick. There were two hat stores in the mall she was going to. Marge was excited about more than the hat. This would be the first time her mom would trust her to go to the mall alone. She wouldn't exactly be alone. Her friend Sinda was coming, too. Since Marge was turning 12 on Sunday, her mom told her an early birthday present was for Marge to go to the mall and pick a new hat. Her mom said that since Marge was growing up, she might be able to trust her to do more grown-up things and shopping was one of those things.But, she had to bring a friend because, like her mom always says, "Safety Comes In Numbers". Marge had never gotten ready so quickly before. She dressed and ate the eggs, pancakes, and fruit her mom had left her all within 15 minutes. That was a new record. Quickly gulping her milk down, she dialed Sinda's phone number, but before she started to hear the ring, the doorbell rang. It was Sinda. Sinda was just as excited as Marge. It was also the first time she would be trusted. Marge and Sinda rushed out the door, remembering to lock up the house and to take along their personal alert systems that would make a loud sound if anyone bothered them. They walked two blocks to the bus stop and waited five minutes before a bus pulled up. They looked at the screen on top to make sure it said 65. Number 65 was the bus to the mall. It said 65, so they got on. Sinda watched for their stop while Marge watched out for strangers. As the bus pulled into the mall stop, Sinda and Marge stood up and held onto the safety poles. When the bus stopped, they got off carefully and walked straight to the mall, making sure to watch the strangers. Once they were inside the mall, they went straight to the first hat store. They wouldn't have to go anywhere else. Marge spotted the perfect hat. 1. What day of the week was it when Marge got her hat?_____________________________________ 2. Who went to the mall with Marge? _____________________________________________________ 3. Why did Marge's mom let her go to the mall without a parent? _______________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ 4. How old was Marge on Saturday? ______________________________________________________ 5. What bus went to the mall? ___________________________________________________________ 6. What color do you think the hat was that Marge saw? ______________________________________ What made you think it was that color? __________________________________________________ 7. What do you think will happen after Marge pays for the hat? __________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Challenge: On the back of the page (or on a seperate paper), write the ending to the story. It should be a happy ending. Start with what happens after Marge sees the hat. Homeschooling can be challenging, but because of the freedom allowed, such as not waiting for everyone in class to finish a subject, the students sometimes find themselves finishing classes early. Many children will still want to do something. Below are some free things to do when kids finish their homeschool lessons early.
- Do crossword puzzles, word searches, or other pencil word games. These stimulate the brain, which is excellent for comprehension skills. - Take a nature walk. Try to reference something from recent studies. If that isn't possible, teach a lesson about what you do see. - Play flashcard games. These can help to keep current lessons fresh in the mind. Flashcards can be made for any subject using index cards. Just cut them in half for a more convenient size. - Make and play a homemade learning game together. Games can be made out of many different things. For a jumpstart on homemade math games, try these free, easy and effective math games for kids. - Play educational software on the computer or online educational games. Educational games can stimulate the brain and some games can even teach new things. - Visit a local library and attend storytime. This will not only be fun and educational, but it's a great opportunity for socializing with other children. Library storytime is often very interactive, requiring children to work together. - Do extra language or math worksheets. This might sound hard to believe, but my children actually enjoy worksheets and sometimes ask to complete more than what were assigned in these areas. - Practice handwriting skills. Having good handwriting skills can help your child immensely. Daily practice can be very useful. If you already practice this every day, a little extra time will be even more beneficial. - Write a story. Writing is an essential life skill that should be practiced regularly. - Keep a calendar of free events, festivals, and activities going on in your area. Check your calendar when the kids finish early to see if there's something you can surprise them with. Many cities also have free educational activities and classes available at universities, libraries, museums, churches, hospitals, parks, and more. Some are even especially for homeschoolers. Always check the paper and surf the internet for free offerings so you can keep many items on your calendar. - Read a book. Reading stimulates the mind. In fact, there has been recent research showing that reading regularly is one of the very few ways to create new brain cells. - Draw a descriptive picture of something recently learned. Putting thought into pictures helps improve comprehension, as well as enhance creativity and imagination. - Watch an educational video. - Do some of the next day's work. This will build confidence in children because they will learn they can do anything if they put their mind to it. - Call around and see if any museums or zoos are offering a free day. If they are, take up the opportunity. - Have a picnic (lunch or snack) and reading circle at the park or in your backyard. - Go to the YMCA open gym. This will be free if you're a member. If you're not a member, the fee is minimal. - Ride bikes to a local nature spot. This could be a large park, mountains, bayou, or any other area where wild animals might reside. - Tour a neighboring city. This will require gas money and possibly money for food, but is relatively close to free. Remember that learning can come in many forms. Keeping an open mind is essential to running a successful home school. You don't always have to spend money to learn. There are educational opportunities all around us. Also remember that it's okay to finish early and just let the kids play sometimes, too. After all, they did earn it by working so hard to finish early. *I originally published a version of this via Yahoo Contributor Network Vocabulary Recognition by Interactive Play and Written Word by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff My homeschooling philosophy always has been about being sure the kids learn, as well as have fun during the educational process. To keep the kids with an open mind to learning, I often mix their interests in with the lessons. If you've got a kid who loves basketball, but is not quite as into vocabulary as you'd like, try this free vocabulary lesson plan on beginning basketball terms. It works just as well on a child who does like vocabulary, but also likes basketball.
Objective In this free homeschool lesson plan, the child will learn the definitions of popular basketball terms. The purpose of this lesson is to practice important language skills, as well as broaden the scope of learning with non-traditional vocabulary words. This also is a great lesson for kids who are interested in playing basketball, as it teaches them the terms they will need to now. Summary To teach this lesson, you will need a basketball and basket, paper and pencil, a print-out of this lesson, a separate printout of just the terms for the homeschool student. The terms can be crossed off as they are used. The child will be using a separate sheet of paper for each set of terms. To print only the terms from this article, first visit the print page by clicking on the print option icon. Next, highlight the terms, click "file," then "print," and then tick of "selection" and click "print" or "ok" in the print options box that pops up. The child should read aloud the term and look up the definition. Have the child repeat the definition aloud. Next, you and the child can act out the term together, using the basketball. If you don't have a basketball net at home, try a nearby park or school playground and look up the terms in advance. For terms that are in reference to an object, rather than a part of game play, show the object. The child should then study the terms on his or her own and be tested the following week. For fun, the test can include writing out the definition, as well as acting out the term where applicable. These terms should be broken up into groups of about 10 - 15 per week. List of Beginning Basketball Terms air ball, assist, backboard, backcourt, bangshot, basket, block, center, conversion, court, crossover, dribble, defense, double team, dribble, dunk, fake, field goal, floor, forward, foul, free-throw, frontcourt, guards, half-court, inbounds, jump ball, keyhole, layup, live ball, loose ball, match-ups, MVP, NBA, NCAA, offense, officials, open, out of bounds, outside shooting, OT (overtime), pass, period, possession, rebound, receiver, release, rookie, roster, shot clock, sidelines, slam dunk, three-point shot, throw-in, timeout, tip-off, transition, traveling, triple double, turnover, upset, violation, weakside Mixing a child's interests, such as basketball, with education can create a receptive learning environment. Extra Basketball Vocabulary Resources Basketball Glossary from First Base Sports Basketball Glossary from Basketball Plays and Tips *I originally published a version of this via Yahoo Contributor Network Free Homeschool Lesson Plan on the Function of a Cat's Eyes
by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff
If the kids have asked you about the cat's eyes, homeschool lesson time is the perfect learning opportunity. Even if they haven't asked, learning how cat eyes work is a great science lesson. This free animal lesson plan on how cat eyes work can be used before or after other vision lesson plans, as part of a unit on animal vision, or even on its own. Much of this will be understandable for even younger kids, but older kids may also benefit from the lesson. This is very adaptable for a mixed-age classroom setting.
Group Reading on How Cat Eyes Work The first part of this lesson involves reading the text below as a group reading lesson. Those able to read can take turns reading this below paragraphs about how cat eyes work aloud. You may want to print a copy of the selection for each child to make it easier. The words in bold can be used as vocabulary words. A printout on cat eye anatomy can be looked at for reference as well. Have you ever wondered how a cat's eyes work? Why are their eyes shaped differently than yours? Why do cat eyes seem to glow in the dark? Is a cat's vision better than yours and why is it so hard to sneak up on a cat, even in the dark? If you look at a cat's eyes, you will notice that the black center, or pupil, is shaped differently than yours. It might be shaped liked a slit or it might be a large round circle. The shape changes, depending on how much light the cat needs in order to see. When it's dark, a cat needs more light to see, so the pupil dilates, or gets bigger, to bring in more light. When this happens, it might look like a cat's eyes are glowing because of the light. There actually is something called the tapedum lucidum positioned behind the retina of a cat's eye. It works like a mirror to reflect the light. In the daytime, a cat's eyes don't need to bring in as much light because there is already plenty. During this time, a cat's pupils will be slitted. Even though cats can see better in the dark than humans and even have a greater vision field at the sides of the eye, the clarity of their vision is poorer. Cats don't need as much light to see as we do and can even see moving objects at a greater distance. However, their vision is more blurred than ours. They also cannot see colors as well as we do. You might compare the focus of a cat's vision to a human with colorblindness and with a need for reading glasses. So even though you might wish you could see as well in the dark or have glowing eyes like your pet cat, you might think twice when you realize that in order to have that benefit, cats also have to give up seeing some color and detail. Group Discussion on How Cat Eyes Work Once the above reading is done, ask students leading questions about what they've read. Discuss together the facts, as well as benefits and drawbacks of how a cat's eyes work. Try to get the students to explain in detail why they would or would not like to have vision like a cat. Science Craft on How Cat Eyes Work Give the students each two sheets of black construction paper and one sheet of yellow. Ask the students to cut out three pairs of cat eye shapes from the yellow paper and paste them onto one of the black. With the remaining black paper, ask the students to cut out shapes of a cat's eyes slitted, medium dilated, and fully dilated. *I originally published a version of this via Yahoo Contributor Network
by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff
The food chain of the animal kingdom is an important lesson that all elementary level students should learn about. Below is a two day lesson plan involving the food chain. The first day outlines for the students exactly what the food chain is, even naming typical animals that work together to form the chain. It will invoke thought in the students, causing them to think about which animals might be where in the food chain. This makes the lesson much more effective in staying in the children's minds. The second day involves an art lesson that collaborates with it.
Day One For this lesson, read the below italicized paragraphs to the students. The animal kingdom is made up of many different animals. In a way they all need to work together in order to survive. Each animal needs another animal or plant for survival. It starts from the smallest of animals and continues on, all the way up to the largest. This togetherness is called the food chain. The smallest animals in the chain will be the ones that do not eat other animals, but eat plants and fruits , vegetables, and seeds that come from plants instead. These are called herbivores. The rest of the animals in the chain are called either carnivores or omnivores. Carnivores eat only meat, which, of course, is other animals. Omnivores eat from both food groups, so that means they eat what both carnivores and herbivores eat. Humans are omnivores. A typical food chain starts from a small animal, such as a mouse or squirrel. That animal eats only things that grow. The next animal can be either an omnivore or carnivore. A snake is a carnivore. That snake will eat the herbivore, continuing the chain. Next, a hawk, who is a carnivore, could swoop down and eat that snake, making the chain continue. Then, if a fox, who is also a carnivore, eats that hawk, the chain has kept going. A clouded leopard could then eat the fox, which, again, continues the cycle. As you can see, the cycle will keep going. This is what makes it a food chain. Once the above scenario has been read to the children, draw a diagram on an overhead or chalkboard to show the students what a food chain is. Instead of listing the actual animals, each circle should stay blank. The circles should connect in order. Next, show the children on the diagram how each animal needs the other, which creates a chain, by creating a chain of your own. Then, erase your animals from the circles. Ask them to suggest animals for each section of the food chain and discuss why or why not certain animals belong in certain parts of the chain you create together. Repeat making the chain a few times. Ask the children to think about the food chain once school is over and discuss it with a friend or family member. If you homeschool, ask the child to discuss the food chain with a friend or a family member who is not schooling with him or her. Day Two For the second day of instruction, students will need to create a food chain of their own. Each student will need one 12x7 sheet of construction paper, a glue stick, a pencil, and crayons or washable markers. They should use all of these materials, with the sheet of paper as a base. Students should label the animals as "herbivore", "carnivore", or "omnivore", with numbers and arrows symbolizing which ones come next. This art should be a combination of drawing, writing, and pictures cut and glued from magazines. Let the students create the scene as they please, so long as everything is labeled correctly. This activity is not only fun for the children, but it further ensures that the lesson will stay in their brain and it also gives them a hands-on association to base the lesson from. Once both days are completed, students should have a very good understanding of the concept of a food chain and how it works. *I originally published a version of this via Yahoo Contributor Network
Whether your child is homeschooling or in traditional school, there comes a point when he or she needs to learn about the isosceles triangle. Here are free isosceles triangle learning resources, such as printables, lesson plans, and homework help.
The isosceles triangle often is confusing. Students sometimes mix it up with other types of triangles, such as the scalene triangle. No matter if you are searching for free homeschool lessons to teach about the isosceles triangle, resources and games to re-enforce lessons, printable worksheets, or free homework help, the collection of links below should have what you need. Free Homeschool Lesson Plans: Isosceles Triangle Triangle Classification (now only free with membership) Equilateral and Isosceles Triangles Identify Triangles Free Printable Worksheets: Isosceles Triangle Triangles Enchanted Learning: Triangles Free Homework Help: Isosceles Triangle Free Math Help: Isosceles Triangle Area of an Isosceles Triangle Algebra: Triangles Free Educational Games: Isosceles Triangle Interactive Lesson Involving an Isosceles Triangle Interactive Lesson: Isosceles triangle Investigation (now only free with membership)
LAST UPDATED 5/15/2021
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Heart 'N Mind Homeschool Journal
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Lyn is your brand healing, soul healing, marketing & content superhero to the rescue! While rescuing civilians from boring business practices and energy vampires, this awesomely crazy family conquers evil and creates change. They live among tigers, dragons, mermaids, unicorns, and other fantastic energies, teaching others to claim their own power and do the same. By supporting us, you support a dedicated parent, healer, and minority small business that donates to several causes. Profits from our all-inclusive store, Intent-sive Nature support these causes and our beautiful family! HIRE OR SHOP WITH LYN | CONTACT LYN FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS
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