Homeschool

Our First Grade Homeschool Curriculum

5-year-old Grace will soon finish first grade, so I thought it was time to share the curricula we’ve used this year as well as what worked and what didn’t work. We continued to participate in a cyber school for first grade (here’s why we chose that route). I wanted to quit the cyber school (and its [...]

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101 Chapter Books to Read (or Hear) Before You Grow Up

It is worth noting that Grace loves a particular series of fairy books, but I hate them. Hate them. The text is dull and not well written. It’s the book form of candy, empty words without any redeeming intellectual value. There are probably books in your children’s lives that are the same way. Why not feed [...]

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Easter Eggs Sensory Bin

The last time I put together a sensory bin for my girls was a disaster. Well, it was a disaster for Allie. Grace loved it. Like always, I failed to pack it up and put it away, so it’s still sitting in a dishpan in my dining room. I’m just on the ball like that. [...]

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How to Grow Your Own Crystal Geodes – A Cool Science Experiment for Kids

How to Grow Your Own Crystal Geodes - Cool Science Experiment for Kids

Growing crystals is a simple process, ripe with science concepts, but it is not a quick process. I questioned whether Grace was ready for a process requiring so much patience. Then I saw this pinned on Pinterest: Come on now. If you knew how to make those, would you be able to resist them? The [...]

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Giant Word Search for Early Readers

I may have mentioned a time or seven before that Grace hates worksheets. Really, who among us would say, “Oooh! Can I do some workbook pages?!” No one that I know. I like puzzle books, but I don’t think reading skill workbooks really reach the level of mental exercise that a good puzzle book would. [...]

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Hands-On Contractions Activity – Learning Contractions with Scissors

Part of learning to read and write is learning the shortcuts in our language, like contractions. I tried to explain to Grace that you remove one of the letters from the original word and replace it with an apostrophe, but it just wasn’t clicking with her. Enough talking, I thought. Let’s cut some words up. [...]

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Kid Science: Do Seeds Need Soil, Light, and Water to Sprout?

Kid Science: Do Seeds Need Soil & Light to Sprout?

Grace’s favorite subject is science. Perhaps it’s because I spent ten years as a science teacher. Perhaps it’s because I love science, too. Perhaps it’s because she’s good at it, and it’s active learning. The why is irrelevant. She adores science. A couple of weeks ago, Grace’s Calvert First Grade curriculum suggested an experiment with [...]

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Jelly Bean Math & Other Activities

$Jelly Bean Math$

I missed candy hearts season this year (trying to keep my overspending self out of trouble), but I had to run in to the grocery store one day last week. They have jelly beans! In lots of different flavors! And colors! You know I couldn’t help myself. Hello, Jelly Bean Math Lessons, all week long. [...]

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24 Chinese New Year Activities for Kids

A couple months ago, I decided that we should belong to a homeschool co-op. That’s what homeschoolers do, right? They join co-ops and have fun, interesting classes. Our daily homeschool time has gone the way of Allie’s dropped naps, and my relatives worry that Grace isn’t learning enough. {Okay, so I worry about that, too.} [...]

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Neck Pumpkin Science – A Kindergarten Homeschool Lesson

Last week, Strite’s Farm Store (the local orchard and farm market that we frequent, year round) had about twenty different kinds of pumpkins, gourds, and squash. I had to pace myself not to buy one of every single variety, just for fun. I was thinking that pumpkins would make great, seasonally appropriate science lessons and [...]

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