My favorite thing about homeschool is the freedom we have. In fact, it's one of my favorite things about being a stay-at-home mom in general. I have the freedom to set my own pace, prioritize as I wish and make my own choices. It also is one aspect that can come back to bite me if I'm not careful though. Having that sort of freedom requires a lot of self-control if you want things to run smoothly. With the introduction of school, I am noticing that perhaps I don't have as much self-control as I thought I did... Sometimes things just need to get done, whether it's what I want to do or not. So I am working on my discipline, so that I get the most out the freedom I do have.
My son and I sat down and wrote out a list of all the things he wanted to learn about this year. It is long list. He is so hungry to learn and has so many questions. I love that I can take that natural hunger and channel it into education. One of the first things he thought of was "how his body works and what happens to food and stuff". Well son, I am happy to oblige.
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I found this book at Goodwill and I couldn't pass it up. I knew it would be perfect for Titus. The pages have huge 3 dimensional replicas of body parts that pop off the page. On the first page the rib cage pops out, showing the heart, lungs and liver all placed underneath. It is hard to describe, I'll have to take pictures of it later. He loves looking at all the pages. Even though he can't read, the pictures are very educational. I have read through the book with him- we did a page a day. Although he didn't understand everything, he got a lot from this!
A great place to buy this book or any book is Thriftbooks. I LOVE that site and find tons of quality used books there.
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Another fabulous Goodwill find was this Usborne book- Understanding your Muscles & Bones. This book has kid friendly pictures and an eye-catching layout. We haven't made it to the finish of this book yet. We read through 2 pages a day. Titus begs to keep going, but we are savoring it ;) It is fairly easy to understand, requiring only occasional anecdotes from me.
Yesterday we were reading about people who can bend their muscles and joints beyond what the regular person can. It talked a little about acrobats and gymnasts. I looked up a few videos of gymnasts on YouTube and both kids were totally amazed. We also watched a video of the Ross Sister (contortionists from many years ago). I have enjoyed all the additional learning this book has sparked!
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Another fun way to learn about the body is The Magic School Bus! You can watch it on Netflix. I remember watching this show when I was my son's age. There are several great episodes on the body.
Ms. Frizzle teaches them about digestion (season 1 ep. 2)
what happens when you're sick (season 1 ep. 3)
how bones and muscles work together (season 2 ep. 2)
and how muscles work (season 3 ep. 9)
This has been a fun show to enjoy in the evening together.
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This fun activity is one I have prepped for Friday. Confessions of a Homeschooler made this neat life-size human anatomy map! You can also use the pieces she provides to make a puzzle.
I have a large roll of kraft paper and we plan to do as she did, trace his cute lil' body, and then glue the organs where they belong. I know he is going to enjoy this because he loves to get hands on. I'll post a picture of ours when it is finished.
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Those are just a few of the things we have been doing for school. He also does reading (How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons) and math work daily. I use school time to practice his weekly AWANA verse too. We have done a few nature hikes and journals with friends, which area total hit (mostly because they involve friends ;)
The picture of the kids at the top was from today-- I had them draw a picture with crayon and then fill it in with watercolor. I gave pretty broad instructions, but encouraged them to draw a fall scene. My daughter just does her own thing, which is awesome- she is 2. Also, I don't think I have a picture of her where she doesn't have yogurt on her face. Titus drew a fall tree, a bird, his dad, two trucks, grass and a road. I love doing art projects with them! In fact one of the things we are going to learn about is famous artists. That was one of the few additions to our list that I made!
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Another fabulous Goodwill find was this Usborne book- Understanding your Muscles & Bones. This book has kid friendly pictures and an eye-catching layout. We haven't made it to the finish of this book yet. We read through 2 pages a day. Titus begs to keep going, but we are savoring it ;) It is fairly easy to understand, requiring only occasional anecdotes from me.
Yesterday we were reading about people who can bend their muscles and joints beyond what the regular person can. It talked a little about acrobats and gymnasts. I looked up a few videos of gymnasts on YouTube and both kids were totally amazed. We also watched a video of the Ross Sister (contortionists from many years ago). I have enjoyed all the additional learning this book has sparked!
_________________________________________________________________________________
Another fun way to learn about the body is The Magic School Bus! You can watch it on Netflix. I remember watching this show when I was my son's age. There are several great episodes on the body.Ms. Frizzle teaches them about digestion (season 1 ep. 2)
what happens when you're sick (season 1 ep. 3)
how bones and muscles work together (season 2 ep. 2)
and how muscles work (season 3 ep. 9)
This has been a fun show to enjoy in the evening together.
_________________________________________________________________________________
This fun activity is one I have prepped for Friday. Confessions of a Homeschooler made this neat life-size human anatomy map! You can also use the pieces she provides to make a puzzle.
I have a large roll of kraft paper and we plan to do as she did, trace his cute lil' body, and then glue the organs where they belong. I know he is going to enjoy this because he loves to get hands on. I'll post a picture of ours when it is finished.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Those are just a few of the things we have been doing for school. He also does reading (How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons) and math work daily. I use school time to practice his weekly AWANA verse too. We have done a few nature hikes and journals with friends, which area total hit (mostly because they involve friends ;)
The picture of the kids at the top was from today-- I had them draw a picture with crayon and then fill it in with watercolor. I gave pretty broad instructions, but encouraged them to draw a fall scene. My daughter just does her own thing, which is awesome- she is 2. Also, I don't think I have a picture of her where she doesn't have yogurt on her face. Titus drew a fall tree, a bird, his dad, two trucks, grass and a road. I love doing art projects with them! In fact one of the things we are going to learn about is famous artists. That was one of the few additions to our list that I made!
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