Hands

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 - May 26, 2006 Vol. II Issue 10
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In this issue:

> 1. From the Editor's Desk
> 2. Article - Top Four Reasons to Teach Grammar in Your Homeschool
> 3. Letters to the Editor - (none this week)
> 4. Say What? Absurd Homeschool Comments
> 5. Feature Article - Simple Yet Effective Ways to Sharpen Memory in Children
> 6. Homeschool Curriculum Idea of the Week - Play "Get Rid of It!"
> 7. Free Homeschool Resources

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. From the Editor's Desk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome!

Did you know that babies younger than 8-9 months old do remember and have specific memories? For a long time, the question has baffled researchers, doctors, as well as parents - do babies have the power to remember or does memory develop later in life? In this issue, our feature article has some great ideas for helping your child sharpen his or her memory. Good memory skills are essential to learning; yes, even for more "creative," right-brained types like myself.

You'll also learn four good reasons why you should not skimp on grammar lessons in your homeschool. Do you ever wonder about the benefits of teaching grammar? Have you heard that kids don't need a lot of grammar if they read well and often? Not true. Bad grammar and poor English usage are everywhere! Making sure your children learn proper English grammar is a homeschool essential, and grammar is one subject that is actually fun and relatively easy to teach. Besides using an age-appropriate grammar workbook (preferably with pull-out pages) for daily practice, be sure to keep at least one good English grammar book on your bookshelf. Our Curriculum Idea of the Week is a fun game that will help you teach grammar.

Oh, and one more thing. I have added our new Summer 2006 Class Schedule to the Blackfoot Art Center weblog, so be sure to take a look. If you don't live in the Blackfoot area, you'll still enjoy the ongoing step-by-step art lessons you'll find there, so check back often.

http://blackfootartcenter.blogspot.com

Enjoy this issue, and here's to a great summer!

Sandra B.
Editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2. Article
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Top Four Reasons to Teach Grammar in Your Homeschool
By Jennifer Thieme

Are you a "relaxed homeschooler"? Have you ever wondered if spending one, two, or even more years on grammar is a meaningful use of your precious time? Have you heard that extensive grammar studies are not important, as long as the student reads well and reads a lot? Here are four reasons you should not skimp on the study of this important subject:

1. Helps with foreign language. English grammar provides an effective basis for the study of upper level foreign language. If one first understands grammar in English, it's much easier to understand it in the foreign language, because it provides a strong basis for comparison. Since high schools now require foreign language for graduation, and colleges look for it on high school transcripts, why not ensure that your child will be thoroughly prepared for it?

2. Helps with English composition. It is helpful to know English grammar when studying higher levels of composition. The language of grammar enables us to talk to our kids accurately about what they have written: "You ended your sentence with a preposition," or "You used an adjective instead of an adverb," or "In a prepositional phrase, the pronoun must use the objective case." All of these ideas can be conveyed without the language of grammar, but it is more accurate to teach this way.

3. Teaches thinking skills. Since grammar has clearly defined rules, studying grammar encourages logical thinking. Kids must follow a logical progression in order to label and understand parts of speech.

4. Increases vocabulary. Learning new words is great; learning them in context is better. The study of grammar is not only the study of the parts of speech and how they fit together; it is also the study of a new set of vocabulary words in context.

If you are struggling with reasons to teach grammar, perhaps these four will give you the boost you need to teach this subject confidently, knowing your time is well spent.

Jennifer Thieme began homeschooling her three children in 1996. She is the administrator of a small, private ISP she established for her own family and several of her friends. She has been published in Practical Homeschooling and the Intuit ProConnection Newsletter. She operates a bookkeeping and tax service from her home. You may visit her business website at http://www.jenniferthieme.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Thieme

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Homeschoolers Have Class! Check out our unique design on popular items including apparel, buttons, bags, and more! Shopping at Homeschool's Best Shop is easy and hassle-free. Our guarantee includes 30-Days 100% Money Back on all returns.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. Letters to the Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

None this week.

* * * * *

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. Say What? This Week's Absurd Homeschool Comments
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mike Farris, the co-founder of HSDLA, recently asked readers of his column to submit "dumb statements" people have made regarding homeschooling. (I've heard quite a few whoppers myself over the years; haven't we all?) Just for fun, we'll feature a few of these silly comments in the Hands-On Homeschool Newsletter:

From Nancy Persaud:
(Although this comment was not specifically a homeschooling comment, as
Nancy recognized, it is too good to pass up): From a 5th grade geography textbook:

"Maps are smaller than the areas they represent."

From Cherie Oliver:
My daughter was born three months early and had severe brain damage. We were told to put her in a home and forget about her. At the age of three the state said that "special" children needed to be sent to the public school system so that they could get the classes they needed. When I told them I was going to homeschool my daughter, the school worker came unglued. She said, "But the state can make her into a better, more dependent entity."
My daughter is now a first grader who reads, writes, and does all the other first grader things. She is the most independent six-year-old I know.
Mike: Incredible. Truly incredible.

From Sandra Bynum:
Neighbor's comment: "If your children are at home all day, how will they learn about the outside world?"
Sandra: Hmmm, we work a few hours, then we're off to the library, the grocery store, the park, the post office, the beach, the museum... and where are the "schooled" kids again?

Oh yes, school!

* * * * *

Note: Send the most ridiculous comment(s) you've heard about homeschooling to us at submissions@allthingshomeschool.com and we'll publish them in "Say What?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. Feature Article
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Simple Yet Effective Ways to Sharpen Memory in Children
By Sapna Ganeshan

Did you know that there are three distinct memory stores in the child’s brain? They are the sensory register, short-term memory store, and long-term memory store. This is where experiences are retained, stored, and recalled.

Memory as you know plays a crucial part in learning and intelligence. And in order to enhance memory, you would need to promote aspects like focused attention, associated ideas, and repetition in your kids.

It is Really up to You

Many of us grew up thinking that thinking power and memory were inherited - that is why some people are average while others are geniuses. This is a myth, research proves that you the parent can raise your child’s intelligence and improve memory greatly.

All you need to do is be a caring parent and devote time to the child. Nurturing is what creates a child who is caring, loving, and giving.

First you must never think negative thoughts. Children can feel your inner emotions and unexpressed feelings. A positive internal dialogue communicates to the child and enhances not just thinking but self-confidence.

Introduce breathing exercises as well as daily physical activities like gymnastics, jogging, sports, swimming, and so on. Do them with your child. Deep breathing and physical exercises stimulate a kid’s mental processes as well as overall performance.

Did you know, mental gymnastics can be done by playing games like checkers, chess, scrabble, word jumbles, and cryptograms and so on. These games stimulate the mind and enhance strategy skills.

Make the home environment comfortable and warm. Be sure to converse with the children whenever you can. This develops their language skills right from birth to around 26 months of age and that too at a very rapid rate.

One of the age-old methods to enhance intellectual potential, build vocabulary, enhance memory and attention span is repetitive reading - so read to the kids when they are young and repeat the same story time and again so that the child absorbs every nuance.

The World of Memory Games

The easiest and most interesting way to help children sharpen their memories is to introduce them to different kinds of games.

For example you make up a limerick in which piggy goes to the market to buy his mother cake, next repeat the rhyme and add one more object to the list—cake and soap. And, as your child repeats the lines he will need to stretch his memory to remember what all piggy needed to buy.

Another oft played game is to put out a jumble of objects on a table. Next allow the child or group of children to glance at the objects for say two minutes. Cover the objects with a cloth and ask each child to jot down a list of what is on the table. This will test their recall and by asking questions about the objects you could jog their memories. Play the game often and you will find that the kids become whizzes at it.

Technology has introduced great innovations in memory games and children are drawn to the wonderful 3D graphics and compelling tales that absorb their attention completely. These are not just entertaining but are designed with enhancement of brain power and memory as the ultimate goal. For example, Smart Neurons has designed several educational CDs and DVDs that integrate imagery with sound and words keeping the children engrossed by the changing contexts, including music as well as words and sentences that are a part of the child’s vocabulary and appropriate to the age group and developmental stage of the child.

Article was contributed by Sapna Ganeshan – Creative Head for http://www.smartneurons.com. Smart Neurons offers kids’ educational software, video and other educational aids that encourage critical thinking, imagination and leadership skills among children.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sapna_Ganeshan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6. Homeschool Curriculum Idea of the Week
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Play "Get Rid of It!" This is a matching game for two or more players that can be used to study any subject for which you can make a set of question cards and answer cards. Students can match math problems and answers, science vocabulary words and definitions, base words and prefixes or suffixes, words and parts of speech, guide words and entry words, and so on.

In this example, our objective will be to strengthen grammar skills, specifically the parts of speech. Materials needed are a set of white and a set of colored 3 X 5 (recipe size) cards and a paper bag. To prepare the game, write a word on each of the white cards; each one representing a part of speech. These can be simple nouns, verbs, and adjectives for younger students, or you can also include adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections for older students. Whenever possible, make your words interesting and fun. Here are some examples:

Nouns - horse, desk, cucumber, clouds, garbage
Verbs - run, jumped, slobber, giggled, swimming
Adjectives - red, ugly, rumpled, wet, silly, ordinary
Adverbs - extremely, very, immediately, clearly, grudgingly
Pronouns - him, they, what, which, whom, she
Prepositions - across, among, underneath, within, above
Conjunctions - until, although, because, when, since
Interjections - ouch! alas! goodness! bravo! oh!

See? You really do need an English handbook! I have several, but I always seem to go back to my old standby, the Handbook of English, 1951, by John Warriner. No fluff; just the rules, examples, and practice exercises.

Now, make a set of questions on the colored cards. In this case, you might simply write a part of speech on each one, or to make it more interesting and challenging, add an additional requirement (or hint):

Which word is a pronoun referring to a female?
Which word is a preposition that is opposite of below?
Which word is an adjective that can describe clothing?
Which word is an interjection that expresses pain?

You can be as clever as you like as you create these questions, and one question can have more than one answer card. Place these question cards in the paper bag.(Hint: Let your children help to write the cards - kids love to create games and this may teach them even more than actually playing the game!)

To play, distribute an equal number of white answer cards equally among the players, three to five cards each to start; and have them spread them out face up on the table. Place the remaining cards within reach. Shake the bag, then draw out and read a question card. The first player to select and hold up one of his cards that correctly answers the question gets to discard it. If a player answers incorrectly, he gains another answer card from the pile. If no one has a correct card, draw a new question card. Play continues until a player gets rid of all of his cards.

Hint: As an alternative, try spreading all of the cards out on the floor or table instead of distributing them to each player. As each question is read, the players visually search the cards for one that will answer the question correctly. The first to hold up a correct answer card gets to keep it. When the cards are gone, the player with the most cards wins the game. To speed up the game, accept any correct answers to each question (one per player).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. Free Online Homeschooling Resources
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/learning-letters/books.htm
Do you have a preschooler or kindergartner just learning beginning letter sounds? They may enjoy making these "Itsy Bitsy Books." These provide letter recognition, phonics, reading and printing practice. Explore this site for many other similar activities that are free and printable.

http://www.funbrain.com/brain/ReadingBrain/ReadingBrain.html
Remember MadLibs? That's where you write down a list of adjectives, verbs, and nouns that are later filled into a story - a very silly story. This version is even more fun, because it is colorful and easy to do on this free, child-friendly, interactive website.

http://www.kidzone.ws/magic/index.htm
Do your children enjoy magic? Do you? If so, you'll want to check out this free website where you can learn eight different magic card tricks, and many other amazing tricks involving coins, bottles, toothpicks, sugar cubes, and more.

http://www.hud.gov/kids/scavhunt.html
Remember the absurd homeschool comment (above) about homeschoolers not learning about the "outside world?" Try this community scavenger hunt and your children can't HELP but learn about their world (at least locally). This is a fabulous social studies activity; fun, hands-on, and anything but boring!

All Things Homeschool Home | Archives | Submissions | e-Books | e-Store