BookShark

Tag: elementary

  • Sidewalk Chalk Ideas for Homeschool Learning

    Sidewalk Chalk Ideas for Homeschool Learning

    If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to liven up your school day, grab a bucket of sidewalk chalk and head outside. While it’s easy enough to let kids go wild and create whatever they want, consider adding some structure and hands-on education to your outdoor chalk time.

    Below you’ll find activities focusing on a variety of subjects —math, science, language arts— that have one element in common; they can all be done outside with sidewalk chalk. These activities are adaptable, so feel free to use these directions as a springboard for your own fun! Modify the ideas below depending on your child’s age and ability.

    Engage Your Kids with These Chalk Activities and Games

    1. Chalk Sundial

    In an area of full sun, draw a large circle with chalk. Mark off the center of the circle. Early in the day, at the top of the hour, have someone stand on the center mark. Then, have someone else draw the shadow that is created. At the shadow’s edge, write down the time. Throughout the day, repeat the process. You’ll see the shadow moving across the circle.

    Questions to ask:

    • How does the sundial work to tell time?
    • How accurate is a sundial?

    2. Math Path

    Draw a large hopscotch board; feel free to extend it by adding extra boxes. Place a different number inside each box. Give your child a specific math function to solve in order to move into each box. For example let’s say you have the number 63 in the first box. Say, “Use division to get to 63.”

    Make it harder:

    • Instead of having them solve one math equation, make them answer many to move into a box. Using the above example, ask them to use addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to get to 63.
    • As they move along the boxes, have kids determine whether a number is a prime number or not.

    3. Spelling Circles

    Draw many circles across a large area of your driveway. Write one letter into each circle. Give your child a word to spell and have them move among the circles, spelling it out.

    Variations:

    • Instead of having kids move from letter to letter, give them a specific movement. For example, “For this word, skip through the letters.”
    • Let your student create words from the letters in the circles. If you want to make it more challenging, have them stick to different word lengths each round, for example six letter words.

    Additional Outdoor Chalk Projects

    Build a Story

    Write a list of random words using chalk, and have your child jump from word to word, making up a creative story as they move along. You can also do this with two people by letting them take turns choosing words but contributing to the same story.

    History Timeline

    Choose a period a historical figure from your history lessons and create a timeline. Include both dates and pictures. Stick figures are welcome!

    Recreate a Masterpiece

    Have your child choose a piece of art they love and then let them make it with chalk. Discuss the pros and cons of using chalk as an art medium.

    Solar System

    Kids won’t be able to draw a life sized solar system, but they can chalk one using proper ratios. Have your student do some math and measure out each planet to make an impressive solar system.

    Whatever you decide to do, the main thing is to have fun while you’re learning! There are all kinds of chalk available, including neon colors, glow in the dark, and glitter. Hunt around for special chalks to make this outdoor learning activity extra special.

  • Why Elementary Kids Need History & Science Alongside the 3Rs

    Why Elementary Kids Need History & Science Alongside the 3Rs

    On social media or while talking to other homeschool moms, new homeschoolers often ask how much time they should expect their school days to take, or what subjects they should cover. Inevitably, some more experienced parents advise them to simply make sure they cover the basics of language arts and math, or tell them they don’t need to do school more than a few hours a morning during the elementary years. 

    Although there’s nothing wrong with thinking through a schedule—what you will cover each day and how long it might take—there’s a danger when we seek the opinions of others who may not share our view of homeschooling. We can end up with a focus on doing the minimum required instead of nurturing the natural wonder and curiosity of childhood. We begin to view school as the things we have to do instead of the privilege of inspiring a love of learning. 

    Thomas Berry, twentieth century cultural historian said, “Our children should be properly introduced to the world in which they live.” There’s a lot of wisdom in that statement. 

    The Elementary Years Are for Exploration and Discovery

    When we see learning as an adventure, we can inspire our children to view it in the same way. Instead of trying to figure out the minimum of what we can do, we need to ask how we can open up the world for our children.

    “Teaching is not about answering questions but about raising questions—opening doors for them in places that they could not imagine.”—Yawar Baig

    Young children are naturally curious. If you don’t believe that, spend time with them and count the number of times they ask why! Their questions aren’t easy to answer either. Consider one of the most common questions, “Why is the sky blue?” How do you explain the science in a way a young child can understand?

    As homeschoolers, we want to encourage that curiosity, and learning history and science during the elementary years is all about exploration and discovery. 

    The times, people, and places that can only be visited through books open up a world bigger than the one they know. It captures their imaginations and answers so many of those burning why questions. 

    History and Science Strengthen Core Subjects

    Traditional education models often separate subjects into neat little boxes. It’s the way most of us who attended public or private school grew up learning. We went to English and math and science classes—often moving from one classroom to the next. The early elementary years weren’t much different except we may have stayed in the same room. 

    With a literature-based approach like BookShark’s, subjects aren’t taught in isolation from one another but as a connected set of skills and knowledge. 

    Students read about history using living books. They learn language arts skills through copywork and dictation taken from those same books. They write about what they are learning—strengthening their writing skills while assimilating their knowledge of history.

    BookShark Science includes a collection of real books, not textbooks, with hands-on experiments and activities. Students use math skills such as measuring and reading charts and graphs. 

    As students study and practice the skills of core subjects alongside the knowledge they encounter in history and science, they learn and remember. Our brains are designed to make connections.

    “As we learn something new, cells that send and receive information about the task become more and more efficient. It takes less effort for them to signal the next cell about what’s going on. In a sense, the neurons become wired together.” —Alison Stevens, Learning Rewires the Brain

    History and Science Prepare Students for Future Studies

    Studies have shown that children who are read to and have access to books are better equipped to learn to read when they go to school. It makes sense that the same principle applies when it comes to learning history and science. 

    Extensive exposure to science and history will help them understand those subjects in a deeper, more complex way as they mature because they have been exposed to more concepts and scientific vocabulary.

    BookShark History: The Story

    Consider the etymology of the word history: “relation of incidents” (true or false), from Old French estoire, estorie “story; chronicle, history” (12c., Modern French histoire), from Latin historia “narrative of past events, account, tale, story”… 

    History is about story.

    From the beginning of time, people passed down their history through stories. We remember stories better than a list of facts because story connects us and captures our imaginations. That’s why BookShark’s use of historical fiction and biographies fascinates elementary age children.

    BookShark Science: The Spiral Approach

    With BookShark science your children will learn about scientific ideas in a way that engages their curiosity in the elementary years through living books and hands-on experiments. Because BookShark uses a spiral approach, students encounter topics multiple times at more and more complex levels. Students can then build on that foundation in middle and high school years.

    Your Elementary Students Need History and Science 

    Yes, need. Need means we require (something) because it is essential or very important. 

    When we see the elementary years through the lens of only what we have to study, we do a disservice to our children. 

    Although the core subjects of language arts and math lay a foundation of skills students use throughout their studies, history and science study speaks to the essence of who children are—curious individuals who are waiting to explore and discover the world around them. The study of history and science will strengthen core subjects as they are practiced and applied, and students will be well prepared for higher level learning.