New 50 States Project

A while back, Family Fun (I think) wrote about a project where a neighborhood of kids set out to collect a postcard from each of the fifty states by summer's end.

I thought, why not?

So I enlisted my facebook friends, and have yet to beg by e-mail and we already have pledges from VA, NC, AK!, HI!, TN, MI, AL, and FL! How cool is that?!

Discovery

Have I told you about Currclick before? If not, then you should go check it out now. All kinds of downloadable curriculum awaits. And the best part? When you create an account for free, you get their weekly e-letter that always includes a free product to download each week. From a book on pioneer projects to beautiful copywork pages to an Egyptian mummy lapbook - I've gotten lots of cool stuff - all free! Ethan using a once-free set of copywork pages from them for his copywork right now. They have great quotes and charming old-fashioned illustrations.

On to the real discovery.

Browsing around Currclick this afternoon, I ran across a free sample for online Kidswonder magazine. The September 2008 issue is their first issue and it's pretty good. At first I began to reject it based on rather lame graphics, but the 110 page issue improved as I went along. It has a fantastic 5 lesson unit study on leaves at the end. I'm thinking a themed "Leaf Day" might be happening at my house. It also has great apple activities. So check it out. And if you like it, you can, it seems, pay a $10 one-time fee by Paypal or credit card which will then allow you to receive a code for each upcoming issue (forever?).

Either way, the free issue will be fun.

First Week of School

We're rolling (somewhat) merrily along. We are mainly getting warmed up to the 3 Rs again and tackling the 50 states. Which has been very fun! From state websites to library books to youtube and national geographic videos, we've been exploring our United States. This has definitely been the fun part. I remember learning the states in third grade. We learned the names and the nicknames and we all loved learning each state's nickname. So for the Heart of Dixie we watched a video of scenic pictures, learned state symbols (I'm using this site for every state) and listened to the state song, then, of course, we ended with "Sweet Home Alabama". For the Last Frontier, we learned about the aurora borealis (and here), watched a Ntl Geographic video about Denali National Park, and Ethan read about Balto (again). And for the Grand Canyon state, we read a storybook history of the desert and founding of Phoenix, as well as a book and videos of the Grand Canyon. We also have workbooks from last year's Target dollar bins that have a half page of activities and info on each state, as well as placemat maps. I also have a Chick-Fil-A card game and cool board game. I think we're going to attempt to collect postcards from all fifty states - just tio make sure the overkill is complete.

*

I decided today to start a one-year Bible reading program with the kids. It said 15 minutes a day, but with our many questions and discussions, it took us 30. I like the check boxes and undated format. We just dove in.

*

Oh, and I got a kick out of this. The kids were filling out a first day "about me" page and Ethan listed "Starlight" by Muse as his new favorite song. It was my favorite song two weeks ago. I love being a good influence.

*

So have you started school yet? (I know some of you have) How's it going?

Olympics for Kids

1. Read articles (Olympic-Medal-Winning Countries, Heading to Beijing, A Big Day for Gymnastics, etc.), tour China , and more at Time for Kids
2. Make an Olympic torch , Olympic flags, or winner's medals at Kaboose
3. Learning Pages has fun worksheets and activity sheets both here (from the Athens Olympics) and new ones here. Remember, you have to be a member to access these, but it's free - no strings attached.
4. Find out All About the Olympic Games, do really cool Olympic printables, writing paper, and worksheets, All kinds of China activities , really cool Olympic ring cookies , cool crafts, including an Olympics window flag and Olive Leaf Crown and more at Activity Village.co.uk.
5. Check out the Beijing 2008 educational kit.
6. Scholastic has a great Olympics site originally developed for the Athens Olympics. It includes a cool online game, It's Greek to Me and a Global Trek to China.
7. Associated Content has an good article, Parent's Guide: Watching the 2008 Summer Olympics with Kids.
8. And Wikipedia has a great 2008 Summer Olympics page too.
9. Teacher Vision has a cool slideshow of the Summer Olympic Game Events that includes the dates for each event, another fascinating slideshow Top 10 Olympic Controversies (about specific athletes), as well as lesson plans and other articles.

I may add more later, but since the right click on my mouse has frozen and I'm too dumb or lazy to cut and paste links any other way, this is all you're getting right now. :^)

New Websites

It's always fun to find new kids websites. Angelina Ballerina has a new website! My girls, especially Rose, are big fans. That site led me to:

PBS Kids Sprout - they have the cutest website. Rosie just came down with a fever of nearly 102, and fell asleep watching Noddy video clips.

There are lots of healthy kids recipes, with names and designs based on favorite characters:

• Freeze Dance Pops
• Barney's Purple Hummus Dip
• Brussel's Mini-Quiches
• Jay Jay's Chicken Salad Plane
• Banjo's Banana Splits

And after you've tried them out, you can upload a picture of your kids making or eating them. My kids are gonna love that! You can also upload photos for various parts of the Gallery. And there are pages of video clips of sign language words from The Good-Night Show.

There are also pages of simple (and I mean really simple) crafts. No, you might not think they're beautiful, and they might not make good Mother's Day gifts, but they'll keep your kids occupied with simple household materials and lots of creativity. Some favorites:

• Bottle Cap Ladybugs
• Sponge Sailboat
• String Telephone
• Picture Puzzle

• Name Art

And finally back at those creative, veggie loaded, kid-friendly recipes, I clicked a link to:

KidsHealth where there are even more great recipes with sections of recipes for kids with cystic fibrosis, diabetes, celiac disease, and that are vegetarian. as well as educational games and experiments, information on childhood illnesses and accidents from kids' or parents' perspectives, a whole sections of "How the Body Works" videos that Ethan might totally love (though the one I watched seemed a bit slow-moving) The teens section of the site has some good stuff, but also lots of information you would expect from a public school type setting in regard to private matters. There's also a "Growing Up" section that you may want your kids to avoid before turning them loose on the site, on the other hand, it could be helpful if you are needing to discuss puberty and related issues.

Have fun exploring these new sites or just enjoying the links that I found. See you later!

Spring photo shoot

Last Friday, we handed the kids a camera a set out to find signs of spring. We had lots of fun, but I think our walk down an azalea, dogwood, and wisteria filled residential street last year actually offered more in spring flower shooting opportunity. We'll go back to that next year.

Happy Arbor Day!

Your children's vocations

If you haven't met Anna yet (and even if you have :^), hop over to Pleasant View Schoolhouse and read her article "Vocations". I've often marvelled at her beautiful and talented home schooled children who are always pursuing their heart's passions, and in this article she tells how it happened and how you can help facilitate this in your own children.

Earth Day for Kids

1. Plant some seeds in an empty egg carton
2. Christian Preschool Printables has a Genesis 1:1 coloring page of the earth
3. And their sister site, Little Blots of Faith, has a Creation lapbook
4. Get cool handwriting paper from PrimaryGames or abcteach.
5. Make a coffee filter earth craft from the Idea Box
6. Older kids can recycle CDs into a disco ball at National Geographic Kids
7. While you're there, play the online game, Recycle Round-Up
8. Learn how to grow a green garden and do a Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Worksheet from Time for Kids.
9. Make rice krispy treat "earths"(alternate method here.)
10. Get a headstart on next year by ordering these Creation Globes

Plans for Holy Week and other celebrations

Palm Sunday
We finally got our Easter decorations up. Ethan brought some wonderful things home from our fantastic children's program at church, including this craft, which is a family tradition of one of our pastors. It is hot glued stick crosses stuck into a foam block and covered with Spanish moss. It came with six interchangeable ribbons.

1. Palm Sunday - Green, The Triumphal Entry: Jesus Arrives in Jerusalem (Mt. 21:1-11; Mk. 11:1-10;Lk. 19:29-38)
2. Thursday - Brown, The Last Supper: Symbol of Jesus' Coming Death (Lk. 22:14-20)
3. Friday- Red, the Crucifixion: Jesus Dies for Our Sins (Lk. 23:33-47)
4. Saturday - Black, The Waiting: Jesus' Body in the Tomb (Lk. 23:50-56)
5. Easter Sunday - White, The Resurrection: Jesus Conquers Sin & Death (Lk. 24: 1-12)
6. Monday - Purple, the Mission: Jesus' Work Continues Through Us (Mt. 28:18-20)
   

Then we made this craft (Thanks, Dawn!)

Monday
You know that you celebrate too much when your kids find out that it's St. Patty's day and immediately want to know what kind of green breakfast you're going to have. I thought I bought Lucky Charms with extra clover - but I couldn't find it if I did, so we had green apple oatmeal!

We're going to an Ireland activity at the library later too, and have several books to read - and green clothes, of course.

Brian left me devotional readings of Jesus' final week in addition to the wonderful family devotions he's prepared for the evening. There are many wonderful ideas for Holy week at children's ministry.com, including the idea of having a special corner for worship this week, including candles or a bare branch wrapped in white lights. We don't really have extra corners at the moment, but this candle tray is top of a bookshelf and will be taken down and lit twice a day for family worship. I'm planning to incorporate most of their ideas for worship each day - they're so easy to implement.

We'll also do a green pepper craft - a pepper ring makes a clover shape. We'll dip it in green paint and make prints. Then corn beef and cabbage for supper and we'll watch The Quiet Man - it's tradition.

Tuesday
Alamo Day for school - books and the John Wayne movie - and Ethan's memorizing a song from his Western CD (can't find the title - will get back to you).

Wednesday
My birthday - an ice cream sundae supper?

Thursday
First Day of Spring - our second annual spring photo shoot. Each kid gets a disposable camera and photographs signs of spring (not including runny noses). We'll take the newly developed shots from last year and put them in an album. We'll also be at a short outdoor concert and have a picnic lunch.

Good Friday
Possibly a Resurrection Party at a friends. Hot Cross Buns for breakfast. A cross craft. Lots of Bible readings (Brian's off). 3PM quiet hour and blowing out the prayer candle.

Saturday
Egg hunt and Easter story at a local horse stable, then lunch and egg decorating with friends. Preparations for tomorrow's celebration. Contemplating attending the Great Vigil at a local Reformed Anglican church.


More concrete plans and ideas to come, this is just the beginning...

My Life In Pictures

It's a good thing that I like to take pictures, because it's the only way that I remember what I did a week ago!

So here's the run down:LEAP DAY 2008:

The gang with their Amphibian Ark frog masks

Ethan was so excited each time he caught sight

of another table set up at the zoo for Leap Day.

the kids made origami frogs at this one.

*******

preface:

Rose is always in character, usually as a princess, and most

often as Luciana (from Barbie's Island Princess movie).

"Come'on, Rosie, smile."

"Smile for your prince, Luciana." (The things mothers will come up with to get a picture!)

Our friend, Leah thought this leapord was too funny with his

tongue hanging out and had me take this picture.

Sherbet the Frog

And his short life span...

The Governor's Reply

Thank you for contacting me about the recent Second District Court of Appeals ruling on home schooling.

Every California child deserves a quality education - but it is the parents' right to decide what's best for their children. Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education.

This ruling is outrageous and must be overturned by the courts. If the courts do not act to protect parents' rights, then - as elected officials - we will.

Again, thank you for adding your voice to this important issue.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,

Your state's blatant disregard for parental rights in education and the outrageous ruling of the California courts in their recent decision on homeschooling is of great concern to parents everywhere. Americans are a people who have earned the right to determine their own destinies and that of their children without the interference of government. The government's responsibility is to protect people from harm, not from the teaching of their parents. It is unbelievably arrogant to act in a way that implies a complete lack of respect for the parents' rights to educate and transmit their own values to their children. I would urge you to investigate this matter and intervene on behalf of the many families in your state who have sacrificed their time and resources to see that their children receive a good education at home.



You can send an e-mail here.

Leap Day

Want to have some froggy fun for leap day?

1. First check here to see what the fuss is all about and if any zoos or aquariums near you are participating in a Leap Day celebration to promote amphibian conservation. More info here. Don't give up too easily. Our zoo wasn't listed, but is having a special day - and we'll be there!

2.Watch videos, send e-cards, take quizzes, and otherwise have a blast learning about frogs at National Geographic Kids. Creature Features: Red-Eyed Tree Frog and Poison Dart Frogs, the story of the giant fossil frog Beelzebufo, Fantastic Frogs quiz game, and articles Freaky Frogs, The Weird World of Frogs, and from National Geographic, Pesticides, Parasite May Cause Frog Deformities.

3. Do some fun, informative worksheets from TimeforKids: Which is Which?(frogs and toads),Meet a Frog, and Disappearing Frogs. Kidzone has a printable beginner book and lots of other neat worksheets, and kiddyhouse has an informative page as well.

4. Make some frog treats. Family Fun has a bunch to choose from : chocolate toads, froggy cupcakes, or sherbert the frog. Somewhere I have a gummy frog on a lilypad cupcake recipe, but I can't find it. It's really cute.

5. Learn to draw a frog.

6. Learn about frogs at Frogwatch USA (just take any global warming info with a shaker full of salt :^). Or find a great selection of other units at teachersguide.

*

7. Do some frog math: count by 3s (more mazes here), connect the dots,or play a frog multiplication game .

*

8. Print some games and activities: froggie dominoes, froggie boardgame (other printables from Suite 101 here), frog and beaver checkers, a frog mask, an alphabet file folder game, Patrin's frog from the Toymaker, and frog orgami.

*

9. Choose a craft: a fly-catching frog, a paper frog puppet, or a jolly jumper from Family Fun; a frog toilet paper roll craft or one of the others at DTLK, or these cute rock frogs from Martha Stewart.

*

10. And find more game and party ideas here, here, and here.

Happy Birthday, George... and half my family!

Today is George Washington's birthday. It is also my Nanny's birthday (my paternal grandmother), my father-in-law's birthday, and my brother Titus' birthday. So, Titus requested a gluten-free chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. He, however, lives a few states away from me in northern Virginia, so I shipped 15 chocolate cupcakes, 2 gluten-free fudge brownies, and a few other things, including peanut butter and confectioner's sugar, and my gem of a sister is going to make the peanut butter cup frosting (the recipe was on the cake mix) for me. We're celebrating Dad's birthday on Saturday with a mahi mahi dinner. I found a really cool gift idea last night, and we're going to see if it can be found in town this afternoon. I'll show you later. And we'll give Nanny a birthday phone call sometime too.

As for George, we're about to read the story of the cherry tree, as well as his prayers at Valley Forge from The Children's Treasury of Virtues. And we're having these yummy cherry cheesecake cupcakes for dessert tonight.

graphic from www.historyimages.com

Celebrating Lincoln's Birthday

That would be tomorrow. Hurry, and assemble just a few things and have some fun!

1. Have the kids make a Lincoln Log Cabin centerpiece for the tableDo copywork on this stationary - you could use one of his quotes.
2. Make penny rubbings - or combine it with this poem for your copywork
3. Like making cabins? Here's another one.
4. And an Abraham Lincoln coloring page to color during story time
5. Generate a Lincoln math puzzle.
6. And read some books! This year we have: A. Lincoln and Me, Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books , Abe Lincoln Remembers, and Abe Lincoln and the Muddy Pig
7. Had to add this one that I remembered clipping from a magazine. A little more effort, but sooo worth it: Martha Stewart's penny fashion!

For more links, Dawn just put up this post.

Chinese New Year (and other adventures in geography)

I almost didn't get this post up, and it's a little late, but hey, they celebrate for two weeks, so here it is. We were focusing on geography the last couple of weeks, reviewing continents, reading books about Canada and Mexico, and then about India and China, the two foreign countries that my children are most interested in. We honed in on Chinese New Year activites beginning on Wednesday, which is when the new year began in the U.S., and continuing on through today. Here are some of our activities for Chinese New Year:

Video:

Chinese New Year by Schlessinger Video Productions

Books:

D Is For Dancing Dragon: A China Alphabet-one of the favorites
Celebrating Chinese New Year
Daisy Comes Home- a typically stunning Jan Brett storybook
I Remember China (Why We Left)
Lao Lao of Dragon Mountain-the story highlights the art of paper cutting. It also has a parallel chinese text, and a breakdown of several Chinese characters that resulted in Ethan working very hard to replicate the character for dragon.

still to read -
You Wouldn't Want to Work on the Great Wall of China!: Defenses You'd Rather Not Build
The Great Wall Of China (Aladdin Picture Books)
Ms. Frizzle's Adventures Imperial China

Periodical:

Kids Of Courage: China Olympic Countdown or Crackdown, 1st Quarter 2008 issue(from Voice of the Martyrs)

Crafts:

Chinese New Year coloring page
Year of the Rat coloring page
Dragon Parade Puppet - these were such a big hit! They loved making them and playing with them.
Paper lanterns (also found here)- Ethan made several of these which we strung together on a paper chain to make a garland

More stuff:

We enjoyed Chinese takeout on Wednesday, trying a couple of new dishes.
Ethan wrote a silly dragon story on this handwriting paper. Here is a Great Wall lined page too.
What Is Chinese New Year? and more crafts from Kaboose.
Great links at Activity Village
Glimpses for Kids: Gladys Aylward - we actually read a bit of a longer story in Hero Tales earlier this year which the children enjoyed very much
And their Gran has been sharing the story of The Heavenly Man with them for the past few months.

I have to mention a few books on India that were particularly compelling:
Count Your Way Through India
In The Heart of the Village: The World of the Indian Banyan Tree - richly illustrated
Taj Mahal - beautiful love story behind this famous tomb

Homeschooling Updates

We've been enjoying so many fun things and are looking forward to many more this month. I bought Ethan Magnetix for his birthday and mentioned it to a friend who also bought some, then a couple of days later, a neighbor brought over some things from her daughter, and lo and behold - another container of Magnetix. God does things like that all of the time for us, bringing up just the right opportunities at just the time we are studying something. The books and DVD were already requested and on the library shelf, and we happily embarked on a few days of magnet study. We also had a magnet kit that had been given to him last year and I'd stashed away. It has several cards of information and experiments. Making a simple compass was a highlight.

Ethan has picked up on our enthusiasm for Ron Paul. He said, " I want Ron Paul to be the president because he believes in the Consitution." Then, "Mom, what's the Constitution? Can we read it?" I love that boy. So today, or maybe tomorrow we'll embark on a study of the Constitution and some other history of that period. We have a few books, including a book on tape about Martin Luther King, Jr. to read on his birthday first.

Last night, Brian and I were happily engaged reading some of the Revolution/Constitution books and watching Schoolhouse Rock.

Videos:

1. Schoolhouse Rock! : America Rock
2. Shh! We're Writing the Constitution

Books:

1. . . . If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution
2. We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States - this cute little book is going to make memorizing the preamble a snap!
3. A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution
4. Heroes of the Revolution
5. Redcoats and Petticoats -this is a storybook about the Setauket Spy Ring

I've been requesting (at the library online)and saving books on snow for a snow themed day. We never got to the paper snowflake contest on New Year's Eve, so we'll make them and maybe have some Mayfield's snow cream too. It would be nice if we could have a real snow day this month and read them then...

Snowflake Bentley
My Brother Loved Snowflakes: The Story of Wilson A Bentley, the Snowflake Man
Snow
Blizzard
The Big Snow
and others

Also in the mix is an upcoming MAP day, dedicated to maps, globes, and other geography-like pursuits, and, inspired by our My America history book today, some video exploration of some of our national parks, monuments, and historic sites. And looking ahead to February, I've been collecting picture book biographies for Black History month including, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Jesse Owens, and Samuel Morris. And books for a unit on China and Dragons in time to celebrate Chinese New Year.


What have you been enjoying lately?

Favorite Childhood Biographies

My 2 year old decided to make a path out of the books on one of the shelves today. She had great fun while the rest of us read A BEKA's first grade history book (the whole thing - it really didn't take that long and we enjoyed it and got some great ideas for later study). Later, as I was picking them up, I saw one of my childhood favorites, Helen Keller's Teacher, a biography of Annie Sullivan. I read it over and over.

I thought it would be fun to share who you enjoyed reading about as a girl (elementary school). I loved the Little House on the Prairie books (and the show for that matter - I even named my cat Laura!), and I read every juvenile biography I could find on Clara Barton. I also enjoyed Shark Lady: True Adventures of Eugenie Clark, and was thrilled when I ran across it at the thrift store last year and was able to read it to my kids, who also enjoyed it.

Another book that stuck with me was Tortured for Christ. I checked it out of my Christian school library in third grade. Looking back, I think that it's kind of odd that no one questioned my reading it at that age, but I did, and although I haven't reread it since then, I still remember many details.

So who were your favorite people to read about or favorite biographies when you were a girl (or guy)?

Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com

2nd Annual Thanksgiving Psalm Memory Challenge

Each year for Thanksgiving, we memorize a new Psalm and review the previously memorized ones. So we've memorized Psalm 100, then Psalm 150 last year, and this year I've chosen Psalm 67.

To the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

1 God be merciful to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
2 That Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.

3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth. Selah

5 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
6 Then the earth shall yield her increase;
God, our own God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us,
And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

Now, it's your turn. Choose a Psalm to say with your family at each meal (or however you memorize) and leave your name in the comment box with a link to your Psalm on your blog.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the LORD!

graphic from Anne's Place

Scavenger Hunt

A couple of weeks ago, we took this scavenger hunt list, and headed to a local university campus. We had fun finding all of the items even though we never got a chance to identify them as thoroughly as I'd planned after we got home. The kids learned new things about decomposition, fungus, and leafless trees (and even how to pee in the woods when you're too far from the bathroom - wiping with a leaf was a highlight - sorry if that's way too much info, but it was very funny!).

Is this the ugliest duck ever, or is it just me (and my kids)?

Going on now - don't miss it!

Activites for learning to write numbers

1. Butterfly number book.


2. Tracing worksheets for #s 1-5 Frogs, Kittens, or Ladybugs.


3. Purchase a dry erase book or board with numbers and write them there. The markers are easier than a pencil.


4. For that matter, use fat Crayola markers in a workbook. Preschool workbooks tend to give you larger numbers.


5. Trace them online.


6. Choose from several themes at learningpage.com, including ocean life and dinosaur number tracing pages. Just sign up - membership is free.


7. Ocean theme worksheets at Kidzone.

Patriot Day

We have a tradition that we've done every year since the first anniversary of September 11. We bake cookies and take them to our local fire department. I seriously thought that we would be one of many, especially the first year. But, oddly enough, we seem to be the only ones that remember the date in this way. This year some friends are joining us. I called ahead to be sure the extra people wouldn't be a bother. But, really, when you call to tell firefighters that your bringing cookies, you really don't have much to worry about. I mean, firemen are the nicest people in the world to begin with and when you add food to the mix...

Maybe some of you will join us in our tradition. It just made sense to me to thank the people that would just as willingly risk their lives for my family if such a thing had happened here. Oh, and don't forget to fly your flag.


Resources - not all of these are intended for children:

1. Presidential proclamation of September 11 as Patriot Day
2. "We Remember" writing paper
3. "Remember" pencil flag and window flag
4. A ribbon to color yellow, cut out, and hang
5. Remembering September 11th-Activities and Crafts For The Classroom
6. More Links and activities at Raising Our Kids
7. Last year's Presidential Prayer Team for Kids newsletter
8. National Geographic Kids multimedia "We Survived September 11" - the fourth grade class from the school four blocks from the WTC.
9. National Museum of American History's September 11 collection
10. September 11 digital archive

What do you do to remember?

American West Unit

We studied cowboys and the American West the week before we went to Tweetsie Railroad - just to make sure they'd fully appreciate the experience. Here's a run down of the best resources I could find at my library and online:

1. A cowboys and Indians playset. Ours included tepees, a covered wagon, cactus, and...palm tree?
2. Interactive journey Go West Across America With Lewis and Clark at National Geographic Kids.
3. Sacajawea (All Aboard Reading)
4. Lewis and Clark coloring pages
5. Crayola covered wagon and horse crafts
6. Cowboy Math
7. Learn to draw an armadillo
8. Pecos Bill
9. John Henry
10. Riding the Rails
11. A Picture Book of Davy Crockett
12. Davy Crockett Saves the World
13. Davy Crockett (the movie with Fess Parker)
14. Last year we also read Davy Crockett: Young Rifleman (Childhood of Famous Americans Series.)
15. Tall Tales DVD
16. ABEKA's 2nd grade Our America 's section on pioneers and the West.

It worked out very well that the library decided to have a Western hoedown activity day that Tuesday and Davy Crockett's birthday was that Saturday. Our resources were geared toward a K5-2nd grade level. Here are some more that we didn't get to.

1. A Marshall "M" alphabet buddy
2. Oregon Trail coloring pages
3. Cowboy/Rodeo unit
4. Westward Ho! Cyberhunt
5. Draw yourself in the back of the covered wagon printable.
6. Attack in the Rye Grass: Marcus and Narcissa Whitman (Trailblazer Books #11)
7. PBS Go!'s Day in the Life history game
8. Printable Color Tracks train board game. Look under file folder games.
9. PBS Kids' Gold Rush
   

And some for older kids:

1. The Oregon Trail online adventure
2. Lewis and Clark Lapbook
3. Oregon Trail worksheets, including math
4. Whitman mission national historic site
5. Christian History Institute's article on the Whitmans
6. Trailblazers - I was fascinated by this website. It gave information of the many Western trailblazers. Lewis and Clark were not the first non-Indians to see the Pacific!
7. The Gold Rush

Also see Teacher Planet's awesome list of links!

Keep those prescoolers busy!

How do you occupy a preschooler during homeschooling? Well, I found that the preschooler usually wanted to be a schooler, so I started her a year earlier. Now the toddler... she's a little trickier.

I usually have math and writing worksheets sitting out the night before so that they can be done before breakfast. I just add something for Rose.

1. A toddler worksheet. Fisher Price makes some cute ones that can be found at dollar stores (particularly the Dollar Tree). Disney does as well. Rose doesn't do many of the instructions yet, but she does love to circle things. Older preschoolers will enjoy simple dot to dot, writing or prewriting activities, etc.
2. Plain old coloring pages. Coloring books work fine, but you can score extra points for finding coloring pages that feature a favorite character online and printing those.
3. Mix it up by offering washable markers and plain copy or construction paper.
4. Try dry erase boards. We have several boards with the alphabet or math problems, but the littler ones seem to prefer the small board books with dry erase activities. Rose not only enjoys writing in them, but she can spend a fair amount of time meticulously cleaning it with a damp paper towel when she's done too. I usually find these at the Dollar General.
5. True mischievousness can be checked with any kind of unneeded paper or magazines and a pair of scissors. Older kids will especially love cutting up old magazines and making collages on construction paper with a glue stick. Only problem with that idea is that your schoolers might want in on the fun too. But that could work to your advantage if they have to get their math done first...

Reading time is the hardest for me. Rose loves to read, but not the same books that I need to read for the kids. Sometimes I read her a few books first, then hand her a stack to look at. I also often have the older two take turns doing their reading aloud and playing with Rose doing puzzles or legos downstairs. Rose loves to sing and dance, though. So I often put on a music video for her in the playroom. (I should note here that "downstairs" is the name my kids gave our playroom which is through the doorway between our kitchen and living room where we do most schooling and is two steps down.)

Favorite videos that you don't have to feel guilty about because they're just real kids singing songs that your child is going to also learn and sing all day:

1. Cedarmont Kids
2. Miss Pattycake ( a little more than just kids singing)
3. Hide 'Em In Your Heart
4. Baby Genius
5. Kidsongs (you can find these in the dollar DVDs at Walmart or dollar stores)

I really try to include Rose (2) as much as possible. Anna (at 3) really enjoyed almost all of Ethan's activities last year.

1. Bible time. We've been reading a Proverb before the kids leave the breakfast table and often turn one into a song. Rose sings the Proverbs songs right along with us.
2. Crafts can be adapted or they can do the same one. We have Tuesday as our designated craft day.
3. Online learning games. Kids like to watch each other play. I give my kids appropriate games from our own game collection, library CDs, or online games. My favorite toddler game is Reader Rabbit Toddler, because you don't have to be able to use the mouse. The child just hits any (or many) keyboard key(s) for results. The Fisher Price website also has really cute preschool games, as does Between the Lions for the older preschooler.
4. Field trips. Lots of them. The zoo, children's museums, nature centers. Very toddler and preschooler friendly ways to educate your children.
5. Playsets that go along with the study. This is a new idea I've been playing with. why not let the kids play with a cowboy and Indian playset while you read to them about pioneers and the West. Or with toy horses while you read Misty of Chincoteague? I've found that kids are often less distracted when their hands are busy.
6. Finding simple storybooks or non fiction books on the topic we're studying means that Rose will sit through the majority of our instruction time loving every minute.
7. Little Touch Leappad has been a great asset to us. This is another activity that the kids can take turns playing with Rose while the other is reading without it being a distraction. It has a great volume control.

Here are some great websites with activities that will save the day by happily occupying your preschooler.

1. Wondertime magazine's website has lots of great ideas, but best of all are their cutting pages.
2. Nick Jr. has zillions of kid-friendly activities.
3. PBS Kids
4. A list of preschool activities.
5. Boobah Zone