BookShark

Author: Shanna Behrens

  • How to Schedule Your Homeschool Day

    How to Schedule Your Homeschool Day

    Homeschool scheduling is about finding your starting point and matching your family’s own groove. For example, when my boys were preschoolers and toddlers, my goal for the day was to shower and have some meaningful reading activities for my oldest son. Insanity was thinking I had to get my homeschool started at 8:00 a.m. when there was no need to. Fast forward to the middle and high school years. My sons now start their homeschool day closer to 8:30 a.m., independent of me.  

    The key to breathing sweet homeschool scheduling into your day is to begin with a set of guidelines that you can actually follow—ones that fit your family’s groove. We don’t need one more thing to stress us out if we are already struggling with homeschool scheduling, so look at these easy starting points below.  

    Analyze Your Family’s Routine and Daily Flow

    For example, if you have a younger household, your day will start earlier. When my household was younger, some days I could start school by about 7:00 a.m., stop for nap time, and then pick up again with a few more activities. Other days were helter-skelter.  

    Setting a dogmatic time to start our homeschool day only added to my aggravation because there was very little I could control when my children were preschoolers. Later, I understood that because my children were so young, I had to have a tentative game plan and find flexibility so that I could accommodate my family’s needs.  

    However, older children tend to thrive with routine and sameness even though we may not as adults.  

    Find Balance

    If you are not a morning person, then give yourself another half hour or so in the morning before you tackle your assignments in the Instructor’s Guide. However, if your children are morning people and they can start independently of you, then set the schedule to accommodate their desire to start early.  

    Think About the End of the Day

    When does your homeschool day end? Though learning and living naturally flow in our day, and sometimes it’s hard to see the difference between the two, we still want to schedule an ending to our day.   Through the years, I have heard of homeschoolers who homeschool for eight hours or more. I am shocked.  

    Our job as homeschool educators is not really very different from having a full time job. We need to have an ending to our day because homeschool burnout may loom ahead if we don’t.  

    During the younger years when there is not much difference between playing and learning, having an ending time is not as important. However, as your children approach the middle and high school years and you are teaching them to stick to a schedule and how to balance their time, it becomes critical.  

    Avoid Hour-by-hour Homeschool Planning

    When you are struggling with homeschool scheduling, avoid hour-by-hour planning and instead to plan bigger chunks of time.   Getting out your daily planner and setting aside 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for homeschool is doable, flexible, and gets your feet on the road to homeschool organization.  

    Next, noting the hours 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. for house chores is pretty flexible too. Instead of chaining you to a homeschool schedule that might not work for you or that may be too specific right now, start with scheduling broad zones of time.  

    As you fine tune your homeschool schedule to fit your family’s rhythm, then you can fill in with hour by hour chores, academic subjects, and other activities you have planned.  

    The simple truth is that homeschooling requires time and a schedule that fits your family as your children grow. Fitting your family’s groove at the present moment, having an ending to your homeschool day, and planning in blocks of time are the beginnings of homeschooling scheduling success.   w out the topics they are interested in and can relate to, ask questions that spark opinions and more questions, and get excited about what will happen next. Your kids will follow suit and you’ll be digging in and having valuable discussions with them before you know it. 

    About the Author

    Tina Robertson celebrated the graduation of Mr. Senior in 2013 and is getting ready to graduate her next son. Because of her love for new homeschoolers, she mentors moms through her unique program called New Bee Homeschoolers. She loves all homeschoolers, though, as she shares her free 7 Step Curriculum Planner, unit studies, lapbooks and homeschooling how tos. She can’t sing, dance, or craft, but she counts organizing as a hobby. She is still in the homeschool trenches blogging at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

  • How Reading Helps the Anxious Child Overcome Anxiety

    How Reading Helps the Anxious Child Overcome Anxiety

    Having a child who lives with anxiety can often be an overwhelming experience. It’s painful for us, as parents, to watch our children struggle with the weight of anxiety disorder. We work tirelessly to help them learn coping mechanisms, develop strategies for managing their anxiety, and help them live their best lives. What if there was one small thing—something many of us might already be doing—that could add another layer of support to their anxiety management?

    I am currently parenting and home educating a child who has generalized anxiety disorder. Because I also happen to be an adult who lives with anxiety disorder, I have a deeper understanding of what my child is experiencing. I’ve been there and can truly empathize with my child’s feelings.

    After a lifetime of searching out different coping techniques, I still find new things to try or think about. I recently came across an article discussing how reading can help anxiety. It made me think about all the books I crawled into when I was younger, as a way to self-manage my anxious moments. I thought about the times I snuggled up to my kids with a good book when one of them was having their own hard day. It really clicked, and I started to dig a little deeper.

    Bibliotherapy Soothes the Anxious Mind

    Above the door of the ancient library at Thebes, was inscribed the phrase Healing Place For The Soul. As long as there have been stories to tell and stories to read, humans have used the written word as a way to soothe our hearts and ease our minds.

    There is a term for this, bibliotherapy, the act of using books to aid in treating mental health disorders. Particular stories can give our minds a way to see things and find solutions.

    Sure, we all love a good book or a good story, but how can we use books intentionally to help our children deal with their anxiety? One of the most effective treatments I’ve tried for anxiety disorder is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). In a nutshell, this is the act of retraining how we think about a situation, so that we can rewire our brain in its reaction to the situation.

    Reading a novel can be a powerful way reframe a bad or scary thing. In the book, we watch the character solve that problem and fight that scary thing to victory. The more we read about a character overcoming a struggle, the more our brains start to learn other ways to respond to a threatening trigger.

    Reading Lets the Anxious Child Be The Hero

    GK Chesterton once said, “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

    Books show us that the things we’re scared of, the situations that trigger our anxiety, can be beaten. Our children read a hero’s tale and see an ordinary everyday character—just like them—go on a journey through dark moments and scary places. They see our hero fight the darkness and emerge victorious.

    Reading puts our children in front of these heroes and lets them imagine themselves as the victor, conquering the dragon. It gives them a brief experience of feeling that bravery and beating their foe.

    Reading Reminds Us That There is Good in the World

    When you live with anxiety, the world can seem overwhelming—full of terrifying events. To our children, these fears can become all-consuming. When we read a book, we are reminded of the good in the world:

    • that people can be strong and brave
    • that love can, and does, win
    • that we can persevere and overcome

    Finding books with characters who do the good things and overcome adversity reminds our children that the world is not such a scary place.

    Reading Gives the Anxious Mind Something to Do

    A child who is feeling anxious will often have a million thoughts going all at once. They may be scatterbrained, or they might become intensely fixated on one problem or thought. When we sit down to read an engaging book, we give our minds something productive and enjoyable to do.

    In an anxiety episode, our child’s mind is looking for trouble—in full flight or fight mode. If we give the mind something to focus on, it can’t keep fixating on the anxiety trigger. This kind of mindfulness activity can be an excellent coping mechanism, and books are a great way to do it. You can’t read a book and think of five other things at the same time. A good book will pull you in, and your mind will slowly let all the other worries fall off to the side.

    Once your child spends time focusing their mind on one task, their mind can feel less scattered and frantic. Along the way, they’ll hopefully get pulled into a wonderful story or a fantastical world.

    As home educating parents, we read all the time. We have family Read-Alouds in our curriculum, and literature for our homeschool lessons. We listen to audiobooks in the car on our way to activities. Reading can be such a large part of our lives already. How wonderful it is that we can also use it to help our children cope with fear and anxiety. with our children. Draw out the topics they are interested in and can relate to, ask questions that spark opinions and more questions, and get excited about what will happen next. Your kids will follow suit and you’ll be digging in and having valuable discussions with them before you know it. 

    About the Author

    Nadine Dyer is a homeschooling parent to two great kids and the lucky wife to one amazing guy. She and her family, which also includes four spoiled guinea pigs, reside in beautiful (and chilly!) northern Ontario, Canada. Nadine is the author of upabovetherowantree.com where she shares her journey, with all its ups and downs, as a secular homeschooling parent. When she isn’t homeschooling or writing, Nadine can usually be found in search of good coffee, good books, and great conversation.

  • 10 Ways to Raise Little Bookworms

    10 Ways to Raise Little Bookworms

    This might sound crazy, but one of my biggest fears as a new mom was that my children wouldn’t like to read.

    You see, I’m a bookworm of the highest order. I’m always reading something, actually several somethings. I have my upstairs book, my downstairs book, and my car book. I am a bibliophile.

    I’m also an educator. Before homeschooling, I was a school psychologist. In that role I saw so many children who loathed reading. Some of those children had underlying disabilities that made reading challenging, others were pushed to read too soon and balked while others lacked exposure.

    I wished that I could go back and change reading for every reluctant reader I met to help them fall in love with reading.

    And that was one of my biggest wishes for my own children. Thankfully, they did fall in love with reading with the help of these ten methods I used to help them fall in love with reading.

    Learning to read is a skill, and like all skills, it requires hard work and heaps of practice in order to become proficient.

    In order for kids to want to put all that time and effort in, we need to provide them with oodles of positive early reading experiences. If reading is pleasurable, they are going to want to learn how to do it themselves.

    1. Surround yourself with words

    If you want your children to read, surround yourself with things to read! Here are some ideas:

    • Access to a variety of reading materials, from books to newspapers to magazines
    • Book baskets in every room
    • When watching television, enable closed captioning
    • Label items in your home, such as toy bins and dresser drawers

    2. Read aloud every single day

    Reading aloud is the best thing you can do for your child’s future reading success. By reading aloud to your child, you are building

    • Vocabulary
    • Background knowledge
    • Reading fluency
    • Pronunciation
    • Listening skills

    Make a promise to read at least one book aloud to your children every single day. If you find you are too tired by the end of the day, start your morning off with a read aloud. By reading a book at breakfast, you’ll be starting off the day on the right foot.

    3. Visit the library or a local bookstore

    Nothing gets kids more excited to read than a special trip to the library or local bookstore! When you are surrounded by so many fresh books, it is hard to be inspired.

    4. Let your child select books

    Sure, they may not choose the books that you would choose, but if you want your children to be passionate about reading, you have to let them discover what they love. In our family, each child has a library tote back. Each week, they check out as many books as they can carry from the children’s section.

    5. Sprinkle in fantastic reads based on your child’s current passions

    Children are always passionate about something. What is your child obsessed with at the moment? Guess what? There’s a book about that! Every week, while my children are busy filling their library totes, I select a few additional books based on their current passions. Then, when we get home, I leave them out in plain view. Without fail, they read the book.

    6. Reread, even when you don’t want to

    Sometimes one of my children will approach me with a book that I have read a gazillion times. Children learn through repetition, so do not get discouraged if you feel that you are reading and rereading the same books every day.

    7. Make read aloud time something everyone looks forward to

    By creating memorable read aloud moments, you are not only connecting to your children but you are also making reading a pleasurable experience for your child. When reading is fun, kids are going to want to do it! Here are some ideas to jumpstart your read alouds:

    • Grab some blankets and snuggle up together with a good book
    • Have a picnic and bring your favorite story
    • Plan a related craft for after your read aloud
    • Grab a flashlight and read in the dark

    8. Don’t pressure your child to learn to read

    Nowadays there is so much pressure to read early, but this pressure makes reading anything but fun. If reading is seen as a job, rather than a joy, children aren’t going to want to spend their time reading! Instead, focus on enjoying good books together.

    9. Set aside quiet reading time each day

    The importance of reading aloud cannot be overstated. Still, silent reading is important too. In our family, we have an hour of quiet time every afternoon. This time is usually spent reading. Even my littlest guy, who is not yet reading, will spend that time paging through his favorite books.

    If you are homeschooling, choosing a literature-rich curriculum will ensure there’s time spent each day with great books. 

    10. Set an example

    Do you know what I do during that afternoon quiet time? I read my book. Make sure your children see you reading. Children learn by watching you, so give them something to imitate!

    By providing your child with positive reading memories, you will not only connect with each other, but you will be helping your child’s future reading and learning success!ns with our children. Draw out the topics they are interested in and can relate to, ask questions that spark opinions and more questions, and get excited about what will happen next. Your kids will follow suit and you’ll be digging in and having valuable discussions with them before you know it. 

    About the Author

    Cait is a school psychologist, mom to three amazing children, and an unexpected homeschooler. She loves nature, good books, board games, strong coffee, and dancing in her kitchen. You can read about all of these things and more at My Little Poppies.

  • 5 Reasons to Keep a History Timeline

    5 Reasons to Keep a History Timeline

    With history’s constant expansion, it’s easy to understand why homeschooling the subject may feel a bit daunting. How can children begin to grasp how it all fits together? There are so many people, cultures, continents, and events!

    One answer is a history timeline.

    Timelines come in a variety of formats, but one thing is consistent. Whether it’s vertical or horizontal, there’s a dated line that helps students put information in chronological order. 

    Students can create history timelines for a variety of reasons:

    • to study a specific era or region
    • to see the events of a person’s life
    • to trace the development of a particular subject—like the evolution of art or progress of scientific discoveries
    • to compare the histories of multiple countries at the same time
    • to give context to a person’s life or an event

    Homeschool timelines are incredibly versatile. They can be kept in a binder, hung on a wall, or even written on adding machine tape, They come pre-printed (like BookShark’s Timeline Book), or students can make their own. Whatever format you choose, consider these five benefits to making one part of your homeschool history studies.

    1. Homeschool Timelines Help Kids Make Connections

    A timeline acts as a way to tie history together. As students add people, events, scientific discoveries, and inventions to their timelines, they discover how these smaller puzzle pieces fit together into the bigger picture of history.

    Teaching tip: Color code your timelines. For example, you can write people’s names in red, events in blue, etc. Or you can assign specific colors to countries and label anything to do with that area in the same color. Just keep a key for reference.

    2. Homeschool Timelines Provide a Way to Organize Learning

    Many parents enjoy a chronological approach to studying history, so using a timeline makes perfect sense. But there are also times when you may want to follow a rabbit trail—something your kids are interested in studying or a current event you want to take advantage of, like the Olympics or US Elections. 

    When you use a timeline like BookShark’s The Timeline Book, students can add to it even when they aren’t studying history sequentially. They will see how their current studies fit into the broader scope of history.

    Teaching tip: Have students memorize a few key dates. These can become pegs to hang their learning on. For example, while studying the American Revolution, knowing what happened in 1776 is essential.

    3. Homeschool Timelines are the Perfect Review

    With a timeline, students have the opportunity to look back over what they have learned and review it. And when you ask questions about their timelines, it can be an informal method of evaluation.

    Teaching tip: Have students show off their timelines. When they are sharing it with grandparents, aunt, uncles, etc, they will naturally be telling others about what they learned. You’ve covered narration and review at the same time!

    4. Homeschool Timelines Develop a Global Worldview

    Students can see what was going on in different parts of the world at the same time. For example, using a timeline when studying inventors and inventions shows students that ideas were often being worked on concurrently, but in different ways. 

    • Thanks to a timeline kids will realize that Christopher Columbus and Leonardo da Vinci were contemporaries. 
    • They will marvel that Socrates, Buddah, and Confucius all lived at around the same time period. 
    • And they may be surprised to learn that while Europe was mired in the Dark Ages, the Islamic Empire and China had a flowering of science and art.

    Teaching tip: When working on your timelines, look for overlap. Prompt them to consider, “How did people from around the world contribute to this event, idea, etc.? Does this event remind you of something else in history? While this is happening here, what’s happening elsewhere?”

    5. Homeschool Timelines Show Patterns in History

    Timelines help students discover patterns in history. You’ve probably heard a variation of George Santayana’s observation, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” By using a timeline, students see certain patterns emerge. Rising tensions, war, times of economic depression, times of prosperity—these tend to cycle in almost every developed nation around the world. 

    When students look back over their timelines, they can find specific types of events more easily and compare to current events. The 2020 pandemic is the perfect time to look back and see when a disease or illness has had a major impact on society.

    Teaching tip: Questions help your student develop critical thinking skills. Instead of simply adding a person or event to the timeline, ask them if they’ve noticed any patterns. Be specific, especially with younger students. For example, “Have you noticed any similarities about events before a war begins?”

    Why You’ll Want BookShark’s Timeline

    Timelines are such a valuable tool for homeschool history that every BookShark Reading with History curriculum package includes a Timeline Book as part of the required resources. Of course, if you use BookShark more than one year, you don’t need a fresh Timeline Book each year. You can continue placing figures in the same Timeline Book throughout your entire homeschool career. The spiral-bound notebook format is especially practical:

    • includes pre-printed dates from 5,000 B.C. to the present
    • constructed of quality, heavy-gauge paper that holds up over time
    • is in a standard 8 ½ x 11” size so it’s easy to store on the shefl or take with you on the go
    • includes plenty of space for figures, notes, and drawings

    Even if you’ve never used a timeline in the past, it’s never too late to start! And if you get behind in placing your scheduled figures, no worries! Just have a timeline book day when you review what you’ve learned and affix all the figures you’ve covered in the last few months. pics they are interested in and can relate to, ask questions that spark opinions and more questions, and get excited about what will happen next. Your kids will follow suit and you’ll be digging in and having valuable discussions with them before you know it. 

  • 8 Ways to Say No to Pointless Busy Work in Your Homeschool

    8 Ways to Say No to Pointless Busy Work in Your Homeschool

    If you’ve ever doubted yourself as a homeschooler, you’re not alone. No matter how many years we homeschool, doubt can get loud. Seeds of doubt plant germinate and sprout when our kids struggle, when we’re tired, when our kids say they are bored, or when learning stagnates. When worry rears its head, our inclination might be to turn to a quick fix or busy work to quiet our fears.

    What is busy work? Busy work is anything we tell ourselves is good for our child knowing full well deep inside it’s a way to keep kids occupied or put a bandaid on whatever is going on.

    Busy work often appears in the form of

    • worksheets you’ll never look at or use
    • excessive practice and problems
    • crafts
    • online learning games
    • educational television
    • flashcards, and workbooks

    While all of these things can be wonderful learning tools if used as such, they can also be pointless. They can be busy work.

    Busy work in education is like the fillers in our food. We can pretend something labeled natural is automatically nutritious. But when we analyze the ingredients label, we see the truth. And at times (especially when we are stressed or exhausted), we tell ourselves our children are learning when children are merely doing something school-like.

    I’m not here to judge. When I was a new teacher, I gave my students busy work. Again, there are a variety of reasons good teachers and homeschoolers use busy work to keep kids occupied. Busy work keeps kids quiet and basically content when other children are learning at different paces, when children are struggling to learn, when a teacher is tired or overwhelmed, and when there isn’t time to plan a more meaningful or hands-on lesson.

    Good teachers and homeschoolers don’t turn to busy work because we’re lazy. We turn to it because we feel something is amiss. When we have that feeling, we need to answer the deeper questions:

    • Is my child struggling or challenged by something we are learning?
    • Is my child complaining about being bored or miserable?
    • Am I comparing my child to someone else?
    • Am I tired or in need of a break?
    • Is my child tired or in need of a break?
    • Are my expectations realistic?
    • Am I looking for reassurance?

    All of these questions point to something other than the need for busy work. And in fact, offering worksheets or mundane practice on something a child already knows, finds boring, or they don’t understand is only going to make the situation worse.

    There are alternatives to busy work, even when we’re tired or feel overwhelmed. Here are eight ways to say no to busy work.

    1. Play

    Children learn through play! Play is just as important, if not more so than anything we are teaching our kids. Rest assured, they are learning! If you need to work one on one with a child, have toys or activities the others can play with independently. Maybe set up an art station, reading corner, or building center. These areas do not have to be complicated or time-consuming to set up. Pull out beads and strings, watercolor pencils and paper, put books in a basket, or grab a bin of LEGO blocks.

    2. Games

    There are countless games that offer practice in reading, writing, math, geography, etc. Children will learn the skills at a faster rate if they are playing. Bonus: playing a game can be the perfect way to both take a break and learn at the same time.

    3. Quiet Times

    If we want our children to learn, our children need rest. A study out of the University of Edinburgh and the University of Missouri looked at the best ways to improve memory. “The participants were asked to listen to some stories and answer questions an hour later. Without the chance to rest, they could recall just 7% of the facts in the story; with the rest, this jumped to 79% – an astronomical 11-fold increase in the information they retained.”

    When our kids aren’t used to resting or playing quietly by themselves, it can take time to help them adjust. Start out with ten minutes of quiet play and work your way up.

    4. Use Group Work or Pair/Share

    We can learn by watching others. If there are skills you want your children to practice, find a friend or sibling they can practice with. The other child may explain the concepts in a new way that helps it stick.

    5. Read

    As long as you’re reading high quality books, reading is never busy work. Read with your child, to your child, listen to an audiobook together, or have a child read silently. 

    6. Focus on What is Going Well

    We all need reassurance, but as homeschoolers, we may have to offer it to ourselves. Keep lists, charts, or bullet journals to remind yourself you are all doing great! Keep track of and encourage yourself by focusing on all the things your child accomplishes during a school day. 

    7. Take a Break

    Give yourself and your child time to process everything you’re doing. Take time to plan, to talk together about what your child wants to learn or needs to learn.

    8. Go Outside

    There are a number of reasons to get kids outside. The outdoors offers places to learn, explore, and exercise. Nature is good for our brains and our well being. Take a walk or head to the creek, the fresh air will reset everyone’s mood and your kids will find all sorts of learning threads to follow.

    As homeschoolers, we have the opportunity to offer our children a quality education over quantity. Our kids do not have to sit in chairs all day, stand in lines, or wait for twenty other children to finish their work. We can set deadlines or not. Our kids can learn inside or out, in the morning or afternoon, and while that doesn’t mean our job as a homeschooler is easy, it does mean we can focus on what our children need and avoid keeping them busy with pointless busy work.

    If after reading this article, you wonder if your entire curriculum may be based on busy work, take a look at BookShark. Meaningful discussions about great books are the heart of a BookShark education. No fluff. No busy work. Request a catalog here. 

    About the Author

    Kelly left teaching middle and high school English to homeschool her children and reclaim how she and her family spent their time. Followers of interest-led learning, her family’s days rarely look the same, but they tend to include a lot of books, art supplies, and time outside.

    Kelly facilitates local writing circles for women and children and blogs about nurturing the love of learning on her blog, Curiosity Encouraged. She loves to journal, read memoirs, hike, and travel. She seeks quiet mornings and good coffee daily.

  • 25 Ways to Use a Markable Map for Homeschool Geography

    25 Ways to Use a Markable Map for Homeschool Geography

    We all suffer from information overload at times. When there is too much detail or too much to digest, we tend to shut down and not assimilate any of it in a meaningful way.

    The same is true for students. Some learning tools are overwhelming. For example, traditional maps and atlases that have hundreds of labels can be hard to digest. There’s just so much information, students may not know what to zero in on and consequently remember little of what they see. 

    That’s why the Markable Map sold in the Required Resources of every BookShark Reading with History program (or All-Subjects Package) is such an amazing—yet simple—tool.

    Reasons to Use the Markable Map

    • The Markable Map isn’t pre-labeled like most maps. It’s so open-ended that you can use it for dozens of different applications. 
    • By doing the work of locating and labeling places on their map, students are more likely to remember what they are learning. 
    • We tend to remember information better when it has a specific purpose or connection to what we are learning. The  Markable Map gives you a way to create that context. You read; then you mark. 

    Fantastic Features of BookShark’s Markable Map

    • This 23″ x 34″, full-colored map can hang on the wall so your students can reference it easily. Tip: If you don’t have room on your wall, pin it to a piece of foam board and store it under a bed. You can prop it up on an easel or a chair during school hours.
    • It’s laminated, so you can use it again and again for a variety of activities.
    • The map has two sides: the United States and the world.
    • All of your students can use it, from kindergarten through high school.

    Markable Map Learning Activities

    You can use the map for a variety of learning activities with students of all ages across subject areas. You’ll only need a few supplies and resources such as Vis-a-Vis® markers, an atlas, the Internet, and of course, the Markable Map. 

    BookShark Instructor’s Guides include suggested mapping activities, so you’re covering geography in an integrated way if you follow the lesson plans. Below are some of the kinds of mapping activities that you may encounter. If geography is a favorite (or a weak spot), you may want to add extra mapping fun into your homeschool routine. 

    For any of these activities, you can have your students include a map key or legend if desired. 

    Geography

    • Learn about the different kinds of landforms and geographical features, then find examples on the map and label them with the term. Create a geography dictionary in a notebook to go along with your study. Draw a picture of the landform, such as a fjord, and define it.
    • Label parts of the map such as lines of longitude and latitude and the equator. Learn what these terms mean and why they are important.

    United States

    • Write the name of the state you are studying and place a star on the capital of the state and label it. Also mark and identify major cities. Include geographical features such as mountain ranges by drawing triangles where they are located.
    • Choose a color for each region of the United States. Outline each state as you study it with a Vis-a-Vis® marker corresponding to the color of the region.
    • Draw a symbol, such as an outline of a car, on each state that you have visited. This is also a great activity to do as you plan a vacation showing where you will be traveling.

    World

    History

    Draw the paths of explorers. Include those who explored lands such as Lewis and Clark, as well as those who traveled across the oceans. 

    Literally track the building of the Transcontinental Railroad as you learn about it.

    Use your map to show where Native American tribes were located across the United States as westward expansion became the focus.

    As you study the history of different parts of the world, add a symbol or simple stick figure style picture on your map where major events took place.

    Show the movement of troops during wars. Talk about the obstacles the geography of the area might have caused for them. 

    History is being made everyday, so locate and label places you hear about in the news.

    Other Subjects

    • When you read about a place in a book, locate it on the map. You can even draw a small copy of the book’s cover to attach to the map.
    • When writing a fictional story, consult the map to find a setting for your story. Think about how the geography of that area would affect the character’s lives. 
    • Use the Markable Map as a visual for a presentation. 
    • Learn about graphing using the lines of longitude and latitude. Give students coordinates and have them draw a circle on the map where those coordinates meet. 
    • Learn about scale and include it in the map keys they create. 
    • Reference the Markable Map when visualizing  math problems dealing with distance.
    • Have students create their own word math problems using the map. 
    • When studying animals, put small pictures of them in the region they are most predominant. Or track migration routes of animals across the world. 
    • Draw small pictures of inventions and place them on the map where they were invented,
    • Label the places different types of music were created or emerged from classical to jazz to rock.

    As your students study different subjects, brainstorm your own family’s  ideas for how to use the Markable Map in your homeschool. You’ll discover it’s an inexpensive investment that yields valuable learning opportunities for the entire family. s with our children. Draw out the topics they are interested in and can relate to, ask questions that spark opinions and more questions, and get excited about what will happen next. Your kids will follow suit and you’ll be digging in and having valuable discussions with them before you know it. 

  • Discussing Books with Kids: How to Foster Valuable Conversations

    Discussing Books with Kids: How to Foster Valuable Conversations

    Have you ever had a conversation like this in your home? 

    Parent: How’s your book?

    Child: It’s good. 

    Parent: Why is it good?

    Child: I don’t know. I just like it. 

    Talking with our kids about a book they are reading can peter out before the conversation even starts. Why? The questions we ask, what we know about the book, and the way we hold discussions all matter. Good discussions are all about connection, and if there is one thing we homeschoolers do well, it’s connecting with our children.

    Looking for ways to having rich, meaningful discussions around the books your homeschoolers read? Here are some of my favorite ways to create conversations. 

    1. Read the Books Your Kids are Reading

    It’s pretty hard to have a conversation about a book you don’t know anything about. We can ask questions, but the heart of a discussion lives in everyone being somewhat informed. 

    If you can’t read the books your kids are reading, find summaries. The more you know about the book, the richer our conversation will be. 

    2. Ask Open-ended Questions

    Questions that have a right or wrong answer, that elicit a one-word answer, or that don’t spark interest will not get our kids talking about books. The questions we ask need to invite them to think about their opinions, the world around them, and who they are as a person.

    Try questions like these:

    • What do you like about this character?
    • What is something that annoys you about this story? 
    • Why do you think the character made that decision?
    • What would you have done in the character’s place? 

    3. Use Reading Strategies

    Reading strategies are tools that help readers think beyond the basic plot of a story. Use reading strategies to craft your questions and discussions: 

    • Predict: Discuss what is going to happen next. Find evidence in the novel to support your predictions. 
    • Connect: Discuss how you each relate to the characters, conflict, or setting. 
    • Question: Discuss what you’re wondering? What doesn’t make sense? What does the author not tell us?
    • Comment: Discuss your opinions. What do you think, like, dislike? 
    • Infer: Discuss what you know by reading between the lines. What are the clues that support your findings? 

    4. Model Excitement About Reading

    Modeling excitement is one of the best ways to create conversation because the more excited we are about reading, the more our kids will be. 

    This next tip may sound silly, but it works! While you’re reading in earshot of your kids, react audibly to your book.

    • Shout, “What?!” when you reach a shocking part.  
    • Laugh loudly when you get to a funny part.
    • Gasp loudly at a scary part.

    When we express what’s going on in our head while we’re reading, our excitement does a couple of things. If you’re reading independently, it sparks interest. Your kids are going to want to know what is so funny or unbelievable, which will spark discussion. If you’re reading out loud together, it’s a great place to stop and discuss what’s going on or how they are feeling. 

    5. Create Conversation Midstream

    While adults often wait until they have finished a book to discuss it, this isn’t always best to do with kids and teens. They need conversation throughout. It will help them stay interested, make sure they are understanding what is happening, and dig deeper. 

    If I’m reading out loud with my kids, we’ll stop and discuss when we’ve ingested a lot of information, get to a really important part, when they are starting to get antsy, before we read and after. 

    If we’re reading the same book independently, I try to create a conversation (even a small one) before and after we read each day. The discussion questions in each BookShark Instructor’s Guide give you perfect conversation starters if this doesn’t come naturally to you.

    6. Be Truly Interested

    Have you ever tried to talk to someone who was looking at their phone or not focused at all on the conversation? It can make us feel pretty small and unimportant. Discussions are conversations. They should look like people paying attention, listening, and truly being interested in what the other person is saying. If you don’t find the books your kids are reading interesting, remind yourself that you are interested in your child and helping them learn. (Or switch to a curriculum full of fascinating books!) 

    7. Have Real Conversations

    Books invite us into real-world problems, historical mishaps, conflicts, and so many lessons. Use a character’s flaws, values, and problems to discuss the best ways to handle struggle and conflict. Books can be wonderful ways to introduce and create conversations around hard topics. Create conversations that are meaningful and go beyond merely discussing a book for school. 

    If you have ever had a really good conversation with a friend about a book, you know the power of discussion, of lifting up the characters you liked, what you each thought and wondered. We can have these same types of conversations with our children. Draw out the topics they are interested in and can relate to, ask questions that spark opinions and more questions, and get excited about what will happen next. Your kids will follow suit and you’ll be digging in and having valuable discussions with them before you know it. 

    About the Author

    Kelly left teaching middle and high school English to homeschool her children and reclaim how she and her family spent their time. Followers of interest-led learning, her family’s days rarely look the same, but they tend to include a lot of books, art supplies, and time outside.

    Kelly facilitates local writing circles for women and children and blogs about nurturing the love of learning on her blog, Curiosity Encouraged. She loves to journal, read memoirs, hike, and travel. She seeks quiet mornings and good coffee daily.

  • Tote Bag Homeschooling: THe Time-saving Solution for an On-the-go Family

    Tote Bag Homeschooling: THe Time-saving Solution for an On-the-go Family

    Are you in a season of on-the-go-schooling? Are you out exploring the world more than you’re at home? I know I am! Museum visits, sports practices, dentist appointments, weekend trips, co-op classes, piano lessons and countless hours in the car blanket our week.

    This constant motion means that our homeschooling has to be flexible. Sometimes reading assignments are tucked into the twenty-minutes hanging out in the waiting room or the forty-five minutes at the library between activities.

    At first, I didn’t think we could fit anything meaningful into these short shifts of learning, but I knew I had to find a way!

    My solution? Tote bag homeschooling!

    Next to my front door, you’ll find a laundry basket filled with tote bags of various kinds. As we waltz out the door, staying on track with learning is as simple as grabbing a tote. Let my bags inspire you to build carry-alls that meet the needs of your on-the-go family! 

    1. Tote Bag Homeschooling for All

    If you’re going to set up just one tote, this is the one. It has something for everyone—perfect for family-style learning! Here are some suggestions based on what’s in my own bag:

    • A card game or two
    • A juicy read-aloud
    • Drawing books and colored pencils
    • Journals for freewriting
    • Magnetic white boards 
    • Magnetic letter tiles for word play
    • A tablet for streaming documentaries 

    2. Tote Bag Homeschooling for One

    This kind of tote bag is designed for one learner and is individualized accordingly. Here is what you’d find in a few of ours.

    • Learner, age 6: phonics workbook and early readers, math book, a couple of picture books, a geography sticker book, crayons and unlined paper, audiobook player with earbuds
    • Learner, age 12: atlas and Markable Map, deck of cards for math games, writing journal, historical fiction book, tablet with science videos bookmarked
    • Learner, age 14: laptop for online math lessons and history videos, novel, science book, word roots game, colored pencils and drawing notebook
    • Mom: Instructor’s Guides, a few math manipulatives, a read aloud book, a box of granola bars

    3. Tote Bag Homeschooling by Topic

    This tote bag is focused on one subject area and the contents will vary depending on the topic. 

    • History Bag: history read-aloud, atlas, geography game, world history encyclopedia
    • Science Bag: field guides, nature notebooks, colored pencils, science books, science-themed games
    • Math Bag: deck of cards, snap cubes, math-themed read aloud, base-ten blocks, math notebooks, dice
    • Reading Bag: early readers, letter tiles, white-boards and markers, word cards, a phonics game
    • Fine Arts Bag: poetry anthology, art books, how to draw guides, markers, colored pencils, oil pastels, books about famous musicians, audio player with earbuds

    4. Tote Bag Homeschooling on a Budget

    This tote bag is inexpensive and versatile! It could be assembled with just a few items from the dollar store! 

    • Library books
    • Notebook and pencils for writing and drawing
    • Dice, a deck of cards, and dominoes for math games

    Homeschooling flows smoothly into the pockets of our days with grab-and-go tote bags! They don’t have to be fancy or overly involved. Build a few totes and line them up in your entryway so you’ll be ready for next day of on-the-go learning. Each bag can fit your family’s needs and the contents can change as often as you’d like them to! 

    With your purchase of an All-Subjects Package, you get a canvas BookShark tote!

    About the Author

    Angela Awald is a homeschooling mama to 6, certified teacher, writer, and doula. Her days brim full of learning, loving, and laundry (lots and lots of laundry)!! She believes that nurturing children (and ourselves) means helping them to see that all of life is about learning – from our mistakes, from each other, and from great books! Angela blogs at nurturedroots.net where she shares the ways she is nurturing her family and inspiration for nurturing your own.

  • How to Homeschool (Well) as a Disorganized Mess

    How to Homeschool (Well) as a Disorganized Mess

    Have you ever heard the myth that homeschool parents need to be extremely organized to successfully homeschool? Maybe you tell someone you homeschool and their reaction is, “Oh! You must be so organized!” Or you attend a homeschool convention and hear speaker after speaker talking about planners, schedules, calendars, and organizational systems as if those are more important that reading aloud and doing science experiments.

    Well, I strongly disagree with the assumption that you must be organized to be an effective homeschooler, and here’s why. I am a disorganized mess, and we have a very successful homeschool nevertheless!

    What do I mean by a disorganized mess? Here are a few examples:

    • I’ve never successfully maintained a planner.
    • We don’t have a single file folder holding school papers.
    • We use an open and go curriculum because preparing ahead of time never happens.
    • If we can find enough pencils for everyone to write at the same time, it’s a good day.

    Now you may be wondering, “If you are so disorganized, how do you ever get your homeschool work done?”

    First, I think it’s important to point out that kids do not need constant academic instruction. Most homeschooled kids can accomplish a lot of the more academic needs in a much smaller amount of time thanks to the small teacher/student ratio and the ability to move at the student’s pace.

    Second, kids learn a lot through everyday life. We don’t need to have a plan for every moment of the day for them to learn.

    Third, while many parents are organized, there are plenty of parents who are not at all organized. And you never know the whole story of someone else’s life. That super mom you are comparing yourself to may not be quite as organized as she seems from the outside looking in.

    Benefits of Being a Disorganized Mess

    Not many people see benefits to being disorganized. And truthfully, there aren’t many. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve bought two of the same item simply because I forgot I had bought it in the first place. That’s not an advantage of being disorganized.

    But being disorganized has allowed us to be a bit more spontaneous. Since we don’t usually have a set plan, it’s easy to take time off to explore a newfound interest. When we are in the middle of a lesson and my sons want to expand on it, we can. We can drop whatever we are doing and not worry about ruining our schedule (because we don’t follow one).

    How to Get Stuff Done in Your Homeschool

    When your mind opens to the reality of homeschooling, it can be overwhelming to think about all the possibilities that you could cover with your children. There are so many academic subjects plus extracurriculars, field trips, and supplements. I have two steps to combat the overwhelming feeling of trying to get it all done.

    • Simplifying. I write down all the subjects i want to cover in a year (or even semester). Then I rank them in order of importance. For instance, we would put math ahead of science and science ahead of coding, etc. Once I have my list, I consider what I can eliminate. Do I really need to do grammar lessons this year or is it something that could wait until my boys are older?
      I write everything that is left in order of importance and determine a basic routine to get it done. We do math twice a week, reading twice a week, and rotate history and science on a weekly basis. This very simple structure means we get things done without feeling hemmed into a strict regime.
    • Writing down my goals. What are my goals in homeschooling? Do I want my kids to gather all the possible knowledge they can? Or are my goals more about making learning fun? Knowing and understanding my ultimate goal helps me realize what matters and what doesn’t matter. Our main goal is to teach our kids how to learn. When we focus on only that, the overwhelming feeling of getting it all done is simplified to just one task.

    Choose the Right Curriculum

    A lot of successful homeschooling in general is choosing the right curriculum. Homeschooling as a disorganized mess is no different. For me, an open and go curriculum works best. When I can just sit down and start the lesson without prep work, it eases the effect of my disorganization. We are able to start any time we please without organizing the lesson first. I don’t need to have a planner or spend hours a week figuring out what we need to do. I just open the Instructor’s Guide and do the next thing.

    Not all curriculum can be open and go though. Any hands-on curricula will need at least a bit of preparation. I prefer programs either offer a concise material lists of items normally found in a household or a program like BookShark’s science that comes with a kit of required materials. That kit is a lifesaver for a mom who isn’t great at planning ahead.

    So when you’re searching for curriculum, consider how much prep time is required. If you’re a disorganized mess, you might want to stay away from ones that require more planning and stick with something that lets you open up a guide and do the next thing.

    About the Author

    Erin blogs at RoyalBaloo.com where she inspires people to make learning fun!  Through printables, games, activities, and unit studies, learning becomes an adventure worth having.

  • Homeschool Learning Spaces: Organizing Electronic Devices

    Homeschool Learning Spaces: Organizing Electronic Devices

    When you think homeschool learning spaces, the first thing that typically comes to mind is a nature center or a reading nook, or perhaps even an art center. But what about kids’ electronic devices? How do devices such as tablets and computers fit into your plan for a homeschool room?

    Our homeschool is not exclusively digital. We enjoy learning through books, science experiments, and hands-on projects. But we still have several devices for our kids to use as part of their home education. Unless I stay on top of the device organization, those cords get tangled and tripped over. Laptops and tablets get unplugged and batteries go dead. We don’t have much space in our homeschool room so it’s more important than ever that I stay on top of managing these digital devices.

    How Many Devices Are Needed to Homeschool?

    Our eventual goal is one device per child, whether that’s a laptop, a Chromebook, a tablet, or a raspberry pi. However, for now, we have only been able to pull off three dedicated devices among our seven children. It’s not ideal, but it’s working for now.

    Having almost one device per two children makes it easy to stage and stagger lessons, especially where we still have physical lessons using books and tactile materials.

    We used to only have one device for all seven kids to share, and that was painful. It was incredibly annoying trying to get all of the kids a turn on the one laptop in a timely manner. 

    Choosing Devices For Your Homeschool Room

    Here are five questions to consider.

    1. How many kids are you actively schooling? This one is obvious, but the number of devices you need will obviously fluctuate based upon the number of kids you are homeschooling.
    2. What age are your homeschoolers? Older students will naturally have a need for more electronic time than younger students. If your students are older, you will need a smaller ratio of devices to students than if your students are younger.
    3. What style of homeschooling do you follow? Some styles of homeschooling will have a smaller need for electronics. For example, Charlotte Mason homeschoolers will generally spend more time in books than eclectic homeschoolers. The ratio of devices to students will fluctuate based upon your homeschooling style.
    4. What is your children’s level of independence? Some homeschooling families strive to get their kids working independently as soon as possible while others thrive in a cooperative setting. 
    5. How much money do you have to invest in more electronics? It goes without saying that your finances will determine how many devices you can afford. It might behoove you to buy one or two now and in a few years when you’ve got more money, you can invest in a couple more. 

    Unfortunately, my school room is not very large, but here are a few tricks I use to keep the electronics tidy.

    Child-Friendly Phone and Tablet Cord Organization

    If your kids are anything like mine, I’m sure you have gone through a painful amount of broken charging cords over the years. Even when my kids don’t use the devices, it seems like they are still always breaking the cords, either because the device got tripped over, tugged on, or plugged/unplugged incorrectly.

    I got so sick of always buying new charging cables that I finally invested in magnetic phone cables for our homeschool devices.

    These are great for kids because they are really easy to plug in. Even my 1-year-old can do it. These are also nice because when a cord gets tripped on, nothing gets ripped or bent wrong, and nothing goes flying either. These magnetic cords are a must for any homeschool room that uses portable electronic devices.

    And to minimize the number of plugins we were taking up, I invested in these fun little charger plugins that can accommodate two USB slots instead of just one. Now we can plug in double the devices with half the outlet space. Again, this is a must for a homeschool room with so many homeschoolers.

    Easy Laptop Storage

    We have three laptops in our family. One of these is specifically dedicated to our homeschoolers and our homeschool learning space, while the other two are more for the adults in the family. However, all of the laptops get used by the kids at least some of the time, which means we need a safe space for multiple laptop storage in our homeschool room.

    The nice thing about laptops is they fold up flat, making them easy to store. Right now, we just stack our laptops onto a shelf in our homeschool room. That way they are easy to access for anybody who needs them, but they are out of the way when not in use. Cords just get wrapped up loosely and set on top of the laptop pile until the next time we need them.

    In the past, we have also used small plastic containers to store our laptops. We found an inexpensive container in the dish drainer section of our local grocery store that was the perfect size for holding a couple of laptops with their cords. And as a bonus, our kids’ tablet also fit nicely in this container.

    Simple Electronic Setup

    When all of our devices are in use, you can imagine the tangle of cords that we deal with. On a regular basis, our school room consists of one tablet, one laptop, and one raspberry pi, and it’s not unheard of for us to add two more laptops and a phone or two, when circumstances require. Now that’s a lot of cords.

    In order to accommodate our large homeschooling family, our homeschool room has two extra-long folding tables. One of those folding tables just so happens to have a hole specifically designed for easy stringing of cords and cables, but we have made this setup work without one of these holes.

    The key to managing cords for all of these school devices is a multi-plug extension cord. We got a cord that was 6+ feet long and strung it from the wall to the table, up through that hole. We taped the cord down to the floor so the kids wouldn’t trip on it, and we taped the outlet part to the table so it wouldn’t get moved around by the kids.

    Now we still have a bunch of cords strung across our table, but it’s more manageable than if they were strung across the entire house. And this kind of setup would work nicely no matter how many devices or electronics you have in your homeschool room.

    For somebody who naturally struggles with organization, this has been a really simple and effective setup for our large homeschooling family.

    About the Author

    Charlene Hess spent many years teaching before she had her own kids. She now has 7 of her own, whom she has been homeschooling for the last 10 years. Although she still teaches other children outside of her home, she finds great joy in exploring the world with her family.

    Charlene has participated in many leadership trainings with John C. Maxwell. She and her husband blog about their homeschooling and parenting adventures at Hess Un-Academy.