|
Get
your
own
copy
of
101
Hands-On,
Tried
&
True
Homeschool
Curriculum
Ideas
You'll
Love!
for a
treasure
trove
of
homeschool
reading,
writing,
and
math
ideas
you
can
really
use!
Here's
how...
|
Hands-On Homeschool Newsletter - Nov. 18, 2005
Vol. I Issue 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In this issue:
> 1. From the Editor's Desk
> 2. Article - Computer Games for Preschoolers
> 3. Letters to the Editor
> 4. Feature Article - Reading Readiness
> 5. Homeschool Curriculum Ideas of the Week
> 6. Free Homeschool Resources
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. From the Editor's Desk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to all of our new subscribers!
I'm so excited about the recent launch of All
Things Homeschool and our Hands-On Homeschooling
Newsletter! What a perfect way to stay connected
with homeschooling, now that my own homeschoolers
have grown up and moved on to lives of their own.
Time and time again people have encouraged me to
share my homeschool experiences, ideas, and
projects with other homeschoolers. I believe I
have found the perfect way to do that through the
Internet. I started with the Homeschooling Helper,
a weblog of fun and useful ideas for homeschoolers
that has developed a regular following. Being a
freelance writer, I decided that a great way to do
what I love, support homeschooling, and pay the
bills might be to write an e-book. That meant
designing a website, too. So, here we are!
I hope that you benefit greatly from what you find
here. There is nothing that can replace the
experience and insight of others, and I wish I had
more of that available to me when I was
homeschooling. Remember, your stories, lesson
ideas, tips, and questions are always welcome at
All Things Homeschool. We are always looking for
reader submissions for our website as well as for
inclusion in this newsletter.
See
http://www.allthingshomeschoolcom/submissions.htm
for more information about submissions.
Meanwhile, enjoy this issue!
Sandra B.
Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2. Article
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Computer Games for Preschoolers
What do you think about young children and
computers? Have you looked at software aimed at
preschoolers, or do you own computer games for
your young children?
My youngest child is thirteen. I bought a couple
of computer games for her when she was four or so,
and she liked them, at least for a while. They
were colorful, fun to play, and presented basic
concepts such as shapes and colors. And of course,
they gave her early exposure to the workings of a
computer. However, she soon became bored with the
whole computer thing and drifted away.
That got me thinking. Should a child of three or
four or even a second or third grader be expected
to use a computer? Can a computer ever replace
human interaction in the teaching / learning
process? In the classroom it can, and it often
does. One mother I know recently enrolled her
kindergartner in school, and found that the school
has a computer lab - for kindergartners! Well,
well.
I think that as homeschoolers, we need to consider
very carefully how much on-screen learning we
expect from our children. One-on-one human
interaction is a big advantage
of homeschooling; that's why our children are home
with us. So should our little ones sit in front of
a computer to learn basic concepts? In my opinion,
probably not.
Personally, I decided to back away from computer
games for my young child and spend more time with
her, doin' stuff!
This is not to say "no" to computers for kids!
After all, there are some great online sites,
three of which you'll find below. My point is,
simply, to prioritize and consider carefully how
you allow your young children to spend their time.
Never require your youngsters to use a computer
for learning activities, but perhaps allow a given
amount of time for a particular game or learning
activity, if they enjoy it. Remember too, that it
is unhealthy for youngsters to spend long periods
of time staring at any screen (TV, computer, or
video). They need frequent breaks to rest their
eyes.
Better yet, turn off the computer and the TV, and
get on with real life activities. Spend time with
your child, play together, and have fun learning!
* * *
* *
FREE Shipping on orders over $50. . .
Avoid mall-mania this holiday season! Sit back
and shop unique designs on popular items including
apparel, buttons, bags, and more! Visit
Homeschool's Best Shop and give an original
gift to all the homeschoolers on your list.
Shopping at Homeschool's Best is easy and
hassle-free. Our guarantee includes 30-Days 100%
Money Back on all returns. If you buy over $50 in
goodies, Super Saver Shipping is FREE!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. Letters to the Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editor's note: Do you have a question or a
comment about an article or feature in this
newsletter, or homeschooling in general? We would
love to hear from you! Please email your comments
to:
sandrabynum@allthingshomeschool.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4. Feature Article
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reading Readiness?
My five children were all "late bloomers." My
earliest walker wasn't on her feet until eleven
months. One reached 18 months before taking his
first steps!
While my friend's children were babbling in full
sentences at the age of two, mine were
communicating with little more than one or two
words (often intelligible).
They didn't even have teeth in their mouths until
nearly a year old!
Admittedly, my first-born was a breeze to toilet
train (at not quite two), but the others took much
longer. The boys went another year or more before
they figured it out.
As any parent knows, each child has his or her own
timetable. This becomes apparent right from the
start, when a child first learns to roll over, to
sit, or to comfort himself. Temperament, physical
health, learning style(s), interaction with
others, and many other factors help to determine a
child's timetable for learning. Even within the
range of "normal," every child is unique and has
his or her own timeframe for learning.
So why is it that all children are expected to
learn to read once they reach school age?
Considering the wide variances in child
development prior to that, it seems rather
implausible that all children should suddenly be
ready to learn to read, or count, or compute, or
draw, or whatever, by any particular "magic" age!
The answer is simple: Children must be ready to
learn certain things at certain times because of
"classroom teaching." Anyone who has children or
works with children KNOWS that all children have
different learning timetables; however, it is
simply impossible to work individually with each
of 30 children in a classroom setting. At best,
pupils can be divided into groups by ability
level, but be sure your child is not in the lowest
group, or your late bloomer is now "slow", a "poor
reader," or even "stupid." He or she may even face
diagnostic testing for ADD or learning
disabilities, or who-knows-what! (And that's a
whole new topic for another article.)
That's one of the reasons homeschooling works so
well for so many families. We know our children
better than anyone else. We know there's nothing
"wrong" with our late bloomers. They just need
more time to think things over, to try things out,
to let concepts settle in their brains before
moving on to new ones.
How many of us adults are like that? We like to
take the time to study and contemplate things. We
observe, we ponder, we practice; if we don't quite
"get it" we take more time until we do get it. We
don't like to jump into things, we prefer to do
something only when we KNOW we can do it right.
The main reason I am publishing this newsletter
and website is NOT to preach about the advantages
of homeschooling, but to provide terrific ideas to
help you do it. Often, however,
it helps to remind ourselves as to WHY we are
homeschooling, or doing anything for that matter.
Then we can proceed to find the most effective
ways to do it. Besides, (as most parents usually
discover) with children, things often work
themselves out. Here's an example:
One of my sons didn't learn to read until the age
of eight. (Had he been in school, what would they
have done with him? I shudder to think.) Up to
then, he simply had no interest in reading. He was
busy building things, exploring, playing games,
working out puzzles, and drawing. He was a whiz at
arithmetic. Finally one day he decided he might
like to learn to read, so he could "learn more
about science stuff." During that year he learned
to read, and at the end of the year was reading at
3rd grade level. And he was reading all about
space and dinosaurs and other neat "science
stuff."
Homeschooling allows our children the time and the
space they need to grow and learn at their own
pace, within their own timeframe, without
criticism or someone else's unnecessary
expectations.
That alone is one great reason to homeschool.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. Homeschool Curriculum Ideas of the Week
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of reading, here are some playful
ways to help your children learn to read! These
learning activities will help strengthen your
child's all-important visual perception skills.
These and similar activities will help her to
recognize letters and words.
1) Play "Picture Memory." You can use family
snapshots or magazine pictures. Show a picture to
your child and let her study it. After a minute or
two, take it away and ask her questions about the
picture. Use obvious questions first: Who was in
the picture? Where were they (or what room are
they in)? Then dig a little deeper. How many trees
were in the background? What kind of shoes was
Mommy wearing? What color was the baby's blanket?
Now bring the picture out again and discuss the
answers. After a time or two, you can bet your
child will catch on and REALLY look at those
pictures! Meanwhile, it's your turn. Let your
child pick out a picture for you to study!
2) Play with puzzles. Children love commercial
jigsaw puzzles. Mine quickly outgrew the six- to
ten-piece wooden puzzles and graduated to 25-,
100-, and 200-piece puzzles. At age four, my
youngest son could spend an hour at a time
assembling a 100-piece puzzle. (He's a very visual
learner, even today.) Jigsaw puzzles are a fine
visual exercise for children. They make wonderful
inexpensive gifts to and from siblings and
friends, and kids love to select their own.
3) Play "Copy This!" Draw a simple design on a
plain sheet of paper, such as a large X with one
small circle in each of the four sections. Now
give your child a plain sheet of paper and have
your child copy the design. For some children,
this is a breeze, but for others it can be quite a
challenge. Increase or decrease the complexity of
the design depending upon your child's ability.
Use crayons or markers to add color to the
challenge. Green squares in each corner, yellow
circle in the center with three red dots inside
it. (Hint: a PERFECT copy isn't necessary; similar
is what you're looking for.)
4) Play "Blind Copying." Once your child has
played "Copy This" a few times, try adding
memorization to the game. As your child watches,
create a simple design. Use basic geometric
shapes, colors, and lines. (Try a small blue
square in the center, a red line straight down the
middle of the paper, and a yellow circle on each
side of the square, for example.) Keep your
patterns symmetrical and repetitive. Now cover
your drawing and give your child a sheet of paper.
Can she remember the design? Can she recreate it?
This game is much more difficult, but after your
child becomes comfortable with this game, you can
draw more challenging designs.
* * *
* *
Find many more fun reading activities just
like these in our new e-book,
101 Hands-On, Tried &
True Homeschooling Ideas You'll Love!
(Writing and math activities, too!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6. Free Online Homeschooling Resources
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.berenstainbears.com/
Are
your children Berenstain Bears fans? Then they'll
love this free site! Lots of fun activities
including printable mazes, dress up fun, crossword
puzzles, games, trivia quizzes, and even
Berenstain Bear videos! You'll need the latest
version of Java for some of these activities.
http://www.funbrain.com/detect/index.html
For your readers (any level). Chockfull of fun
reading games, both on-screen and printable.
Choose Easy to Super Hard levels; also Math,
grammar, visual perception, memory games and more!
K-12.
http://www.slooh.com
Astronomy site,
7-day free trial, amazing!
All Things Homeschool Home
| Archives | Submissions
| e-Books |
e-Store
Copyright 2005 AllThingsHomeschool.com - All
Rights Reserved
|
