Rising Gas Prices and Homeschooling Families

It shouldn’t be a surprise that many homeschooling families are feeling the crunch of the rising gas price. At this point, the future of the American economy is not looking bright.

Brenda, the financial editor here on our network, has put together a very informative post entitled ‘High Gas Prices Affecting Families’. It is definitely must read material. To begin, Brenda tells us…

“As gas prices climb to record highs ($3.51/gallon national average) every family is affected financially. Even those who don’t commute to their jobs find themselves paying higher and higher prices for groceries trucked across the country and for airline tickets.

According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey, gasoline prices top concerns over jobs and health troubles. Families are more concerned about the rising cost of gas than about paying their mortgage or health care bills.”

Sadly, this is true. These ungodly prices seem almost life changing. Most of us are in the same boat right now, just trying to keep our heads above water. If we don’t see a decline in prices… who knows what will happen.

In the meantime, there are things you can do to make your homeschooling day more affordable. Consider virtual field trips and the many online resources available to you, in regard to no-cost worksheets, school supplies, etc.

If you hang out with other families who homeschool, talk to them about swapping supplies that are no longer needed. You might be surprised by what they have to offer.

How are you dealing with soaring prices? What have you had to eliminate from your day and have you found an adequate replacement? Now, more than ever, we need to share ideas. Let’s not let the rising cost of gas rain on our homeschooling parade!

Comments? Questions? Please email me, TODAY!

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April 29th marks the 205th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. On that day, the United States purchased a huge amount of land, from France. The cost of this land, which nearly doubled the size of the US, was said to be between three and four cents an acre.

The following video features an excellent explanation of events that occurred. The purchase is commonly referred to as the best real estate deal in history… for just pennies an acre I am inclined to agree.

The following sources provide lesson plans, appropriate for all grade levels. If you have never incorporated the Louisiana Purchase into your curriculum, there’s no better time than today!

At Teachers Guides/Lesson Plans, K-4 lesson plans include: French sayings and map reading. Grades 5-9 will enjoy making trivia books. 9-12 grade level curriculum includes: Louisiana’s Indian tribes, the 1812 Louisiana Constitution and the price of European commodities, in 1803.

If you are considering teaching your children about the Louisiana Purchase, what unique ideas do you have? Have you found other curriculum sources you are willing to share? If so, please post them here.

Comments? Questions? Please email me, TODAY!

If you are in search of a unique ‘field trip’ idea, pack up the kids and head to Home Depot. That’s right, Home Depot! These workshops or ‘how-to-clinics’ are held the first Saturday of every month, at all Home Depot locations, between 9am and noon.

Workshops are geared for children, ages 5 through 12. They must be accompanied by an adult, for the duration of their stay. Kid’s who attend will learn basic building skills and the importance of using tools responsibly.

Besides, coming away with their project, attendees will also receive a miniature, orange, Home Depot apron and an achievement pin.

Gatherings such as this play into the social aspects of homeschooling, as well. Your children will have the opportunity to interact with children, local to the area. Who knows, you may even meet other homeschooling families there.

The clinics have been held since 1997. An estimated 12 million projects have been built since that time. That’s a lot of bird houses… almost 600,000 in fact. Not to mention all of the step stools, tool boxes, bug houses, fire trucks, pencil boxes, mail organizers and picture frames and other educational products that have been created.

Depending how crafty your children are, building the project is just the beginning. They can be painted or stained and then embellished in any number of ways. Woodshop and arts and crafts curriculum, all rolled into one.

These workshops are quite popular. Class size can range from 10 to 200. Chain-wide the average number of children who attend each session is 75. If you belong to a local homeschool group, you might want to suggest that several families attend together.

If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us. ~ Jim Rohn

Home Depot also holds adult oriented workshops, which seem suitable for older children. There are several gardening-related subjects such as creating an organic garden and container gardening. Contact your local store, for further information.

Have you ever attended a Home Depot or any other type of crafty workshop with your child? If so, what did they like best about it? Is it something that they would enjoy doing again? Inquiring minds want to know… it’s time to spill the nails… I mean beans.

Comments? Questions? Please email me, TODAY!

Photo by: Hugo Corona

(This is a guest post. Many thanks to Claudine Williams.)

Are you trying to inspire your children to read? Teaching your children the joy of reading will provide a lifelong skill and give them the confidence to succeed in higher education or any career choice.

Children in elementary school may even be interested in reading short novels. Once they have mastered the basics of reading, it’s time to teach your child how to read for enjoyment and knowledge.

Select Interesting Stories
Try to recommend books that interest your children. Take your children to the bookstore or library and let them choose books with characters or scenarios that they can identify with. Many children enjoy science fiction, coming of age stories or stories about animals.

Preview the Book
Make sure that you read a few pages of the book or a book review before you make your final selection. Some books that seem appropriate for children are not. Ask your media specialist for a list of suggested children’s books. Books lists are also available at Amazon.com, other major book retailers and libraries.

Keep a Reading Journal
Ask your children to keep a reflective reading journal as they read. Ask them to list at least five questions they would like answered in each chapter. You may want to come up with questions for your children to answer, as well.

The questions might include basic reading comprehension questions which answer the question ‘what happened’ and interpretative questions which answer the question ‘why did this happen’. Ask your children to make predictions in the journal, too. Journals help children document their thoughts and expand on ideas.

Read With Your Children
Show your children that you are interested in what they reads by reading with them and initiating discussions about the book. You may also want to lead a small book club with other neighborhood children so your child can view reading as a cool social activity.

Get Started Now
It is never too early or too late to begin a novel reading program with children who have basic reading skills. Plan a pizza and reading break during your regular homeschooling session. You can go a step further and let them read about pizza!

Have you started a book club for homeschooled kids in your neighborhood? If so, share your secrets. Make it easier for all of us to roll reading skills and social skills all into one. Let’s do our best to inspire our children to read.

Comments? Questions? Please email me, TODAY!

One of the greatest benefits of homeschooling is the fact that the sky is the limit when it comes to what you can teach your children and how you go about doing so.

Day-to-day activities that your child probably already participates in can easily be incorporated into your curriculum. These activities can be anything from grocery shopping, to caring for a pet to helping in the garden.

This post ‘Unique Learning Adventures for Homeschoolers’, brought to you by More 4 Kids, includes several excellent ideas for unique homeschool adventures. Whether you are looking for suggestions in regard to math, science, social studies, English, physical education or the arts this is must read information.

In the words of More 4 Kids:

“While your child’s peers are tucked away in the “traditional” classroom setting, you and your children can be out engaging in activities in different areas of your community learning all sorts of new and exciting things.”

Talk with your kids. Ask them to think of three or for things that they would REALLY like to learn. Then have them tell you how they think they might be able to learn these things either at home or in the community.

You will probably be pleasantly surprised by the answers they give you. Chances are, you’ll end up learning something new in the process, as well.

Please take the time to read the above mentioned post. It is filled with wonderful learning ideas and projects to jazz up your curriculum.

That being said, what is the most unique learning adventure you have shared with your child? Was this adventure planned or was it spontaneous? We are always on the lookout for interesting project ideas. Please feel free to share yours.

Comments? Questions? Please email me, TODAY!

(This is a guest post. Thanks go out to Brenda Emmett.)

One of the most difficult things to do when you are homeschooling is to keep everything new and exciting. We love the time we spend educating our children and helping them to learn, but sometimes it is just plain hard to make it not seem dull. Things become routine and boring, no matter how great the material that we are learning happens to be. So how do you create excitement and fun in your homeschool? Here are a few ideas that have worked well in our family:

Jammie Day
One of our favorite things is when I have declared it jammie day. This is a day when we get to stay in our pajamas all day long. There is something distinctly sweet about staying in your pj’s all day. Perhaps it is because the children know that their friends who attend public school can’t do the same. Days like this are often filled with giggles as the schoolwork is completed. I often hear pleadings of “let’s have a jammie day!”, but I only do it on occasion. This keeps it special.

Reading Day
On this occasion, we just put aside the rest of the school work and cuddle up with a soft blanket, a pillow and a favorite book or books. Then we just read all day long. We share our favorite parts of the book we are reading with each other and discuss why we like or dislike a particular book or passage. Sometimes we even combine this with jammie day.

Read, Then Watch
Something that has worked well for our family is to read the book or story and then watch the movie. This really gives the children something to look forward to and I know that they have read the story first. It will often foster a conversation on how the movie differed from the book. Then we discuss which way we liked it the best. The book usually wins every time, but the movie is fun to watch. And the children love that it is part of their school.

Draw it!
I realize this sounds like art class, but really this is when I simply write down all of the subjects that we must complete that day on slips of paper. Then we fold the papers and mix them up in a bowl. We take turns drawing out a slip of paper to see what we will be doing next. This creates excitement for everyone. We are more excited to work on research papers or spelling lists when we draw them out of the bowl. It creates an element of surprise and unexpectedness. It is also just a little more fun.

In what ways do you keep your homeschool fun and exciting? C’mon, we really want to know!

Comments? Questions? Please email me, TODAY!

Photo by: Mike Davis