The Creative Homeschool

In case you haven’t noticed, or didn’t know, I have moved this blog and my other homeschool blog to their new home. Thanks to Renae and Andrea for all their help. Honestly I could never have done any of this without them!

If you have bookmarked this URL, please update it to

http://www.thecreativehomeschool.com

See ya at my new home!

Kids of all ages love to collect things. You never know what will spark a collection but when the inspiration strikes, it can quickly turn into an obsession. Before you are tempted to stop yet another collection, you may want to consider some things.

A collection is important, at least for the moment. Kids have a strong connection to certain collections of things. They can evoke emotion even years later. Encourage your child to collect something that speaks to them. And if you really want to connect with your child, get excited about their collection too. Ask questions, help with research, offer to help. It’s an informal way to connect with your child, especially boys, who can shy away from “sit and talk” conversations. They are also easy choices when Gramma calls to ask what your kid wants for a birthday gift.

What do you do when your child’s collection has outgrown the shoebox? Give up a shelf in your home for more public display. This can validate your child’s passions and let them know you value what’s important to them. You can also clear space in their room for display. If their collection is going to be more long term (or valuable), like baseball cards or stamps, it pays to learn how to best store and display a collection like that.

Collections for younger kids can be a no-brainer for school activities. Counting, sorting, categorizing, maintaining and pricing can all be sneaky ways your kids can learn without it seeming like another school lesson. You can have them write about their collections, learn where their collections are produced or used, do art projects about them and older kids can do research papers on themes and objects. Teach them to save their money to add to their collection or to buy a container for it. Use collections as object lessons. And who knows but that their interest will turn into a lifelong passion or even a career.

When the excitement has passed and they have moved on to the next collection, don’t just toss it. Make a memory of it. Take photos and/or video of them with their possessions. Have them write how they feel about it. If you can, store away their favorite few items from the collection and start a new collection of all their collections. They will thank you when  they are grown and can look back on a box full of wonderful memories.

If you have a giant stack of catalogs and magazines that you don’t want to store but feel guilty about tossing, try these ideas to get more mileage from your paper before you recycle it.

• Make silly faces. Cut out facial features out of different ads and the put them together in funny ways.
• Make paper beads. Then use them for necklaces, bookmarks and all sorts of gifts.
• Cut into strips and weave together for a colorful placemat.
• Cut out words and phrases to make crazy poetry.
• Use pictures to make an alphabet book for a baby. Or colors. Or shapes.
• Use articles for word recognition or cut and paste spelling lists.
• Use an article for a “word mine” game. Call a word sound or letter and have them highlight words that match your request.
• Use the magazine pages as scrap paper when doing other crafts. The slick paper won’t bleed onto your other projects and you can grab a new sheet each time one gets yucky.
• Cut out adjectives from ads to increase writing vocabulary.
• Use pictures to copy in art class. Choose a medium and use the picture as a model.
• Make cool envelopes with pages. Use pages that coordinate with your letter or recipient. For example, if grandma loves gardening, send her a note in a gardening catalog envelope. Make sure you put a white sticker on the front for the address so it’s easy to find.

For older kids:

• Have them rewrite an article, or offer another angle.
• Use a layout as a sample and cut out things to create your own magazine layout.
• Cut and paste your own magazine by cobbling together things from several other mags.
• Look trough magazines to notice trends and themes. Write something based on that research.
• Rewrite a product slogan.

Books are great tools for homeschoolers. It seems there is no end to the creative possibilities. But sometimes the choices can seem a bit overwhelming, or the process is complicated and you stress about creating content that will be worthy of the container. How about trying a book that is made from one page, a little book that can be cut and pasted and scribbled to your heart’s content. Fill it with poetry or facts or drawings of plants. Use one of the directions below. Make them for friends, create a zine and sell some copies. They are fast and fun and oh so easy. I bet you can’t make just one.

one page book (8 pages)

one page meandering book (16 pages)

another option for a mini book

For more book fun, check this site or this one. You’ll have enough ideas to outlast your kids’ education!

I don’t know about you, but when it’s back to school time I can’t resist stocking up on white glue. It was only 5 cents a bottle, after all. But now I have about 20 bottles of it. So what do I do with all this white gluey goodness? (I mean besides letting the kiddos rub it on their skin and peel it off?)

1. Make a relief design art project. Draw with it on paper. Make sure the lines are nice and thick and don’t fill in any spaces. Let it dry overnight. The next day you can place another sheet on top and rub with crayons or colored pencils and create some great rubbings. Try lots of different patterns and you can mix and match for interesting effects.
2. Use it as a resist. Once again, draw a line drawing with the glue in nice thick lines. Let it dry overnight. The next day get out your paints and color in your picture. The colors will stay within the glue lines and you can end up with a great effect that looks a bit like batik.
3. Use it to make play putty for the kids on a rainy day.
4. Make some Papier Mache goodies.
5. Use it like a glue stick. Now isn’t that handy?

Still have some glue left? For even more fun visit here.

TEST, v.t. To compare with a standard; to try; to prove the truth or genuineness of any thing by experiment or by some fixed principle or standard; as, to test the soundness of a principle; to test the validity of an argument.             (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

Testing is something I believe in. As a Christian and believer in God’s word, I take examples and commands seriously. God says to test Him (Mal. 3:10), test spirits (1 Jn. 4:1) and to test our faith (2 Cor. 13:5). According to Webster’s definition, I have a standard, a fixed principle (God’s Word, the principles of the subject, the rudiments) that I am to judge my children against. It is my right and responsibility to make sure they are adequately mastering the principles I am trying to teach them.

Evaluating your kid’s proficiency can be a “testy” subject among home educators. To formally test or not to test? There are valid reasons on both sides of this issue. Whether you are a tester who is tired of the routine or a non-tester who may be thinking of an occasional assessment, these out-of-the-box ideas may get you thinking about testing in a different light.

• Have them write and act out a play demonstrating understanding of concepts.
• They can explain what they have learned to a grandparent or friend.
• Older students can write (and grade) and essay test for you to take on what they have been learning.
• Make an art project illustrating principles and ideas of the subjects.
• Make a board game with ideas they have learned.
• Put the questions on index cards spread on the floor. Let them jump from card to card to answer the questions.
• Write a newspaper article or newscast. This is great practice for fact-filled learning.
• If you need a traditional test, let them verbalize the answers instead of writing them. Younger students think much faster than they can write, so verbal tests can ease their testing anxiety.

Any of these activities can give you a great idea of how much they have learned without traditional paper and pencil testing. You may do many of these things now and not think of them as evaluation tools. Next time you need to test, try one of these and see if your kids don’t ask you to test more often!

If you don’t make books with your kids you are missing out on some fun! Books are a great alternative to lapbooks or notebooks. There’s no way you can not have fun making and filling books with stories, songs, poems, math tables, pictures, essays and anything else your children can produce. Here are a few links to whet your appetite.

Making Books with Children

MakingBooks blog

Let’s Make Books

Make Your Own Books

Bookbinding Tutorials (many of these are for older kids and adults)

Creating books is also a great way to apply skills like math and art techniques. They encourage fine motor skills with binding and writing.

Do you make books? Care to share photos? How have handmade books added to your homeschool education?

There are so many reasons but I had to stop at just 10.

1. I can be with my kids all day. They are  awesome people.
2. It helps me grow in the fruit of the Spirit.
3. I get to stimulate my brain and learn new things all the time.
4. My kids get tailor-made education.
5. We don’t have to get out in yucky weather.
6. I can make sure they are eating well. Who are they going to trade lunches with?…
7. I can be their main spiritual influence.
8. We get to talk throughout the day. I learn things about my kids I may never know otherwise.
9. Our lives are not rushed. We don’t overfill our life with stuff on top of a school day. Our schedule is more relaxed.
10. We have flexibility for appointments, field trips, family visits and such.

What are your reasons?

Yea it’s museum day! Your family is excited as you all pile in the car. How can you get the most out of your precious time together? Here are some tips to help you enjoy your local art museum to the fullest.

• Go when your family is at their best. for some it’s morning, for others the afternoon. Assess your family’s best time and go then. And remind the kids about the usual–whispering, not touching anything, etc. so they know what to expect, especially if it’s their first time.
• Go on free day. Many museums offer days with free admission. Take advantage.
• Check the schedule. Before you head out the door check the museum’s listing of temporary exhibits. Maybe one fits what you are studying. Mark future exhibits on your calendar so you won’t forget.
• Study a local artist that has work in your museum before you go. Your kids will enjoy the artist’s work much more when they feel connected to the artist. Maybe you can even schedule a studio tour with the artist. It never hurts to call and ask!
• Leave prepared. Have all the stuff you would have wherever you go. Feed the kids. Wear comfy shoes.
• Get a map. Plan out your tour, learn where the bathrooms are (and the fire exits too) and see what’s available for viewing.
• Get a tour from a docent. They will tell you all the interesting tidbits you might never learn otherwise. They are passionate about the museum and will usually offer a great tour.
• Go on a regular basis. You don’t have to see the whole thing at once. Take it in small bites and savor each moment.
• Buy a membership. Membership really does have its privileges. Members have access to private shows, special events, classes and newsletters. And if you are a regular museum goer you’ll save money on admission.
• Plan a visual scavenger hunt. Make a list for the kids to check off, such as “a lady with a hat” or “a piece of fruit” or “a statue of a horse” and let them look for them.
• Don’t skip the gift shop. It’s a great place to pick up unusual gifts. And they almost always have neat things you can use in your homeschool, like sunprinting paper, models and art prints.

Creative ideas are great. They are necessary and they have been given to us by God. We are made in His image, the Ultimate Creator. But our creative thoughts, like all of our thoughts, must not rule us.

Creative types are long on ideas. We have them running out our ears. If ideas were green beans we would have bushels and pecks. I know I sometimes can’t help myself. If we pass an empty storefront, my family often plays a game of “what business would do well there.” If I hear a business owner struggling, I brainstorm ways to help them out of their pickle. If I hear a homeschool mom frustrated about an area, I tend to think up a dozen ways to help her out of her situation. We love to think of how we would spend a million dollars, how much good we could do for the world.

There is nothing wrong with these activities. They are not bad, in fact, they can be brain stretching exercises that can help me think in new ways. However, if the thoughts come and come and come, then it can become a problem.

We are not to be slaves to our thoughts. In fact, we are to take every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5). Out thoughts are to serve us. Just because an idea comes to mind does not mean it should be acted upon. Every good idea is not a God idea. And it takes listening to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit to distinguish the difference.

I used to think that if an idea popped into my head I should do it, just because it was there. This is not Christian maturity. The mature Christian seeks God’s direction–the when, the how, the if. It seeks the mind of the Lord, not their own mind (Acts 22:14). If God gives the go-ahead–if it is His will as laid out in His Word–then I am free to pursue that idea (John 8:28). Otherwise I need to wait (1 Cor. 2:16, Is. 55:9).

What do I try to do now? I write down all the ideas that come into my head. Some are for me now, some are for others who cross my path, some are for me later, some go in the circular file. If I write it down then it gives me peace and that little idea is not rolling around untethered in my head. Also started this blog as a outlet for some of the crazy ideas I get. I talk to my husband too and he helps me as another filter. He is much less emotionally attached to an idea than I am and can help me work through it or let it go. These tools help me harness my creative energy so that it is working for me, not just causing chaos and disorder in my thought life.

We must sanctify our minds and think on things that are lovely and of good report. We must treat our thought life as holy ground. Don’t let just any weed come in and ruin the garden you have made. Keep your thoughts in order and your creativity will serve you well.