Parents who choose to home school their children will soon realize that, unless you have a designated area set aside for school work, the entire home becomes the classroom. To avoid disorganized clutter and the paper trail of the day's lessons spread all over the lounge, it is sensible to restrict the schooling activities to one area in the house. Setting up a home classroom need not be expensive.
Keep the wall colors restricted to neutral or soothing tones. Green and orange are good colors for calm and creativity. Keep the bold primary colors for accessories such as tables and chairs. To cut costs on paint, you could purchase a cheap tint to add to a basic white paint. With younger children, it is advisable to invest in a durable, washable paint.
Don't rush out and purchase school furniture. Use what you already have in the home. As long as a table is the right height for your child it will serve the purpose of providing a decent work surface. If the surface is uneven, a large piece of plywood or thick cardboard as a writing tablet for your child to press on, will solve the problem.
Your child's desk chair should offer back support, and the height should be sufficient to enable her feet to rest squarely on the floor while she is working. Do however, provide one comfortable reading chair in the room for silent reading. A home classroom should simulate as closely as possible a regular school classroom; with a reading mat and play corner for younger children.
For storage purposes, one should make an old bookshelf or cupboard available. Cardboard shoe boxes covered in brightly colored gift wrap will suffice to store learning materials such as stationery, paints and paper. Remember to label all storage containers for ease of identification and access.
If you are going to use some of the many free internet resources for home schooling, you will need to purchase files to store your downloaded printed resources. These files too can be covered in bright gift wrap and color coded,according to subjects or learning areas. All files must be clearly labeled.
Keep your old coffee tins and plastic containers for the storage of stationery and so on. These tins and containers can also be covered in paper or painted to liven up the display of stationery on an open bookshelf in the home classroom. Remember that re-cycling forms a part of every curriculum and your child should see you putting this theory into practice. You can also keep Macaroni, bead, stone or bean "counters" in glass bottles on these shelves.
If you are able to provide a separate table for art work and crafting, this table should be covered in a durable plastic tablecloth to enable ease of cleaning. If you have only one work surface, simply lay out newsprint and plastic before commencing with any messy work such as painting or pasting.
It is always a good idea to provide notice boards for the home classroom. These can be used to display themes you are working on or to display your child's work. A cheap noticeboard or display board can be created by using a polystyrene sheet covered in bright fabric or paper. Alternatively, one could purchase a box of thick carpet tiles and glue these in place on the wall to serve as a display board. An even cheaper option is to place string onto nails and create a wash-line type noticeboard. Simply peg your child's work onto the tightly stretched strings to display his assignments or artwork.
It is not necessary to purchase posters for the home classroom. One can print alphabet sheets, number charts and much more from one of the many internet sites which offer free homeschooling resources for parents. Your child can simply color in or paint these posters for learning display purposes.
If the room you have used for your home classroom does not have adequate natural light, make sure that your child's work surface is well-lit by a desk lamp. There should be no reflection or glare thrown onto the computer screen, however.
No home school classroom is complete without an internet-enabled desktop or laptop. This will be your most expensive outlay, but also your most essential one. Purchase a printer which is cheap to run, with cartridges that are refillable. Make sure that the work surface is large enough to accommodate the computer and a space for written work for your child.
On a limited budget, you can have your home classroom set up over a weekend; ready to commence classes on Monday.
Visit my blog at http://www.publicschoolsofsubstance.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Noeleen_Hart
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Homeschooling: Five Tips for Parents who teach their own Kids
Parents are the first and most important teacher their child will encounter. An important tip is to start teaching your child from the day he or she is born. Research the myriad ways you can create a stimulating nursery environment for your baby to optimize cognitive development. Speak to your baby, often, if not constantly, during her waking hours. Cut the baby talk and stimulate your baby's development using gestures, tonal variations and body language where possible.
By the time your child is a toddler, you should already have established play areas and work stations in the home. It would be preferable to have a spare room available for the long-term to store all home schooling resources.
Outdoor education is vitally important, so it is advisable to make a designated safe area with a sandpit and water table from as soon is baby is able to sit unaided. If one is home schooling ones children then every activity becomes a learning activity and a chance to stimulate your toddler's curiosity. You need not spend a fortune on sandpit and water toys. Use plastic kitchen containers, jugs, salad spoons and the like to dig and make mud pies outdoors with your child. Your home is a perfect source of free home schooling resources.
Work stations need simply be a clutter-free toddler-friendly table and chairs. Make sure there is a storage area close to the workstation. Organize your storage area to promote ease of access to your resources. Use cardboard shoe boxes or storage units from hardware stores to keep paper, scissors, glue, art materials and so on together. An important tip is to make sure that, from day one, this cupboard is a treat and treasure trove for junior. Every time you sit down at your child's table and play, give your child 100% of your attention.
If your project for the day for your one-year old is finger painting, get the materials ready before you let your toddler loose. Let your baby enjoy the texture, taste (paints must obviously be home- made and non- toxic) and mess of his or her first painting experience. As soon as baby loses interest, allow him or her to stop the activity. If you keep pushing your child beyond his or her concentration span or ability, the experience will no longer be fun and, even worse, could put your child off art work for a long time.
Make sure that you display all end products, that is, your toddler's art works around the home and write your child's name in lower case letters on the art work. You should record the date at the back of the artwork to enable you to file these masterpieces chronologically at a later stage.
A third and very important tip is to start early with the stimulation of your child's interest in or knowledge of the natural sciences. Again, you need not purchase expensive items such as cages and animals destined to be strangled by an over-zealous toddler. Scout around your local used-goods stores and find a few plastic or glass aquariums. Make your display cages as attractive as possible. The addition of a fluorescent light to a tank full of snails crawling over lush green leaves can serve as an attractive nightlight for your toddler's room.
Keep changing your displays and set the insects free after a few days. As your child gets older, if his interest in living creatures persists, make sure you have containers ready for him to place the creatures, he has found himself, into. By the time your toddler reaches age three, it is time to start revealing lessons such as metamorphosis. Invest in some silkworms from your local pet store or simply access a caterpillar from your garden. Talk your child through the process. Show him the eggs, the cocoon or chrysalis and remember to set the resulting moth or butterfly free once its wings are dry enough for flight.
An older toddler can benefit from water pets such as turtles. Make feeding time fun. Go outside and hunt for crickets and grasshoppers to feed the turtle and watch it eat. A visit to a stream nearby with a net could yield a catch of tadpoles. Place the tadpoles in water and feed them fish flakes or mincemeat. Make sure you keep the water clean. Once the tadpoles start to grow their legs, place flat rocks in the container or tank for them to sit on when they are ready to leave the water.
Set the frogs free after a few days. Tip four would be to use repetition as any classroom-based teacher would. Reinforce the current learning experience by pasting frog pictures in your child's room or workspace. Give your child paints and crayons to draw her own frogs. Start reading fairy stories like the Frog Prince at bed times and keep cultivating a love of and interest in natural science. If you need additional resources, simply browse the Internet sites which offer free homeschooling resources and download posters, art projects and items containing frogs. if your child displays an interest in amphibians start the alphabet chart at letter F for Frog. No-one said it is mandatory to learn the alphabet from A to Z.
If you have decided to home school your children, it is vital that you start as early as possible. Do not be put off by doomsayers who tell you how expensive it will be. The world is a classroom and it is full of free home schooling resources. The fifth and final tip I have for parents who wish to home school their children is that children learn best through instructions given with love. Who could possibly love your child more than you do? Parents, you are the most important teacher your child will ever have. Step up to the plate and assume your rightful position as your child's teacher.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Noeleen_Hart
AMAZING RESOURCE TO PUT YOUR MIND AT EASE: BASIC SKILLS ASSESSMENT GUIDES: Purchase the series which includes fun language and grammar exercises in Grammar Bytes; Achieving top results in the SAT's revision and study tips guide; Essential Learning Objectives Guide to make sure you have covered all outcomes required; punctuation; language; health and finance guides as well as career guides PLUS the The Best of the Winter Workshop MP3/CD which details the best lessons gleaned over twenty years of homeschooling by experts in the field. Click Here!
Keep your child on track and ahead of the pack, put your mind at ease that you are achieving all the necessary outcomes and have FUN home schooling your child!
By the time your child is a toddler, you should already have established play areas and work stations in the home. It would be preferable to have a spare room available for the long-term to store all home schooling resources.
Outdoor education is vitally important, so it is advisable to make a designated safe area with a sandpit and water table from as soon is baby is able to sit unaided. If one is home schooling ones children then every activity becomes a learning activity and a chance to stimulate your toddler's curiosity. You need not spend a fortune on sandpit and water toys. Use plastic kitchen containers, jugs, salad spoons and the like to dig and make mud pies outdoors with your child. Your home is a perfect source of free home schooling resources.
Work stations need simply be a clutter-free toddler-friendly table and chairs. Make sure there is a storage area close to the workstation. Organize your storage area to promote ease of access to your resources. Use cardboard shoe boxes or storage units from hardware stores to keep paper, scissors, glue, art materials and so on together. An important tip is to make sure that, from day one, this cupboard is a treat and treasure trove for junior. Every time you sit down at your child's table and play, give your child 100% of your attention.
If your project for the day for your one-year old is finger painting, get the materials ready before you let your toddler loose. Let your baby enjoy the texture, taste (paints must obviously be home- made and non- toxic) and mess of his or her first painting experience. As soon as baby loses interest, allow him or her to stop the activity. If you keep pushing your child beyond his or her concentration span or ability, the experience will no longer be fun and, even worse, could put your child off art work for a long time.
Make sure that you display all end products, that is, your toddler's art works around the home and write your child's name in lower case letters on the art work. You should record the date at the back of the artwork to enable you to file these masterpieces chronologically at a later stage.
A third and very important tip is to start early with the stimulation of your child's interest in or knowledge of the natural sciences. Again, you need not purchase expensive items such as cages and animals destined to be strangled by an over-zealous toddler. Scout around your local used-goods stores and find a few plastic or glass aquariums. Make your display cages as attractive as possible. The addition of a fluorescent light to a tank full of snails crawling over lush green leaves can serve as an attractive nightlight for your toddler's room.
Keep changing your displays and set the insects free after a few days. As your child gets older, if his interest in living creatures persists, make sure you have containers ready for him to place the creatures, he has found himself, into. By the time your toddler reaches age three, it is time to start revealing lessons such as metamorphosis. Invest in some silkworms from your local pet store or simply access a caterpillar from your garden. Talk your child through the process. Show him the eggs, the cocoon or chrysalis and remember to set the resulting moth or butterfly free once its wings are dry enough for flight.
An older toddler can benefit from water pets such as turtles. Make feeding time fun. Go outside and hunt for crickets and grasshoppers to feed the turtle and watch it eat. A visit to a stream nearby with a net could yield a catch of tadpoles. Place the tadpoles in water and feed them fish flakes or mincemeat. Make sure you keep the water clean. Once the tadpoles start to grow their legs, place flat rocks in the container or tank for them to sit on when they are ready to leave the water.
Set the frogs free after a few days. Tip four would be to use repetition as any classroom-based teacher would. Reinforce the current learning experience by pasting frog pictures in your child's room or workspace. Give your child paints and crayons to draw her own frogs. Start reading fairy stories like the Frog Prince at bed times and keep cultivating a love of and interest in natural science. If you need additional resources, simply browse the Internet sites which offer free homeschooling resources and download posters, art projects and items containing frogs. if your child displays an interest in amphibians start the alphabet chart at letter F for Frog. No-one said it is mandatory to learn the alphabet from A to Z.
If you have decided to home school your children, it is vital that you start as early as possible. Do not be put off by doomsayers who tell you how expensive it will be. The world is a classroom and it is full of free home schooling resources. The fifth and final tip I have for parents who wish to home school their children is that children learn best through instructions given with love. Who could possibly love your child more than you do? Parents, you are the most important teacher your child will ever have. Step up to the plate and assume your rightful position as your child's teacher.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Noeleen_Hart
AMAZING RESOURCE TO PUT YOUR MIND AT EASE: BASIC SKILLS ASSESSMENT GUIDES: Purchase the series which includes fun language and grammar exercises in Grammar Bytes; Achieving top results in the SAT's revision and study tips guide; Essential Learning Objectives Guide to make sure you have covered all outcomes required; punctuation; language; health and finance guides as well as career guides PLUS the The Best of the Winter Workshop MP3/CD which details the best lessons gleaned over twenty years of homeschooling by experts in the field. Click Here!
Keep your child on track and ahead of the pack, put your mind at ease that you are achieving all the necessary outcomes and have FUN home schooling your child!
Six Pros and Cons of Home Schooling
When you first mention home schooling to traditionalist family members, their objections come thick and fast. Many will tell you about the perceived problems, and very few will talk about the pros attached thereto.
The first hurdle to overcome then is to make your decision known to your family and close friends. If you struggle to find a supporter or support among them; stick to your decision and join a home schooling chat site or group. These parents, like teachers the world over, are always willing to share success stories and tips with their colleagues.
Another con which will be thrown out immediately by concerned family members and friends will be the mention of the red tape involved. Do your homework, approach the local school board and you will find that it is not so difficult to register your home school after all.
Many doomsayers will tell you that you will never manage to offer your child a daily learning routine such as that offered by mainstream schools. Herein lies the beauty of the home school. Learning need not end when a bell rings; learning need not be restricted to a single room; the day need not be broken up into artificial time slots to cover the three R's.
Parents who have successfully home schooled their child or children will tell you that unlike in traditional learning centers and schools, the home schooled child is able to work at his or her own pace. The child is able to engage in continuous learning inside the home classroom, outside in the garden and when participating in a family outing. The universe is the classroom for those lucky enough to enjoy the benefits of home schooling.
Probably the most often quoted con is that children who do not attend the local public school will never learn to get along with other children. The opponents will tell you that your child's socialization process will be stunted or retarded in some way. While your child may not be forced to interact with large groups of children on a daily basis as happens in the traditional schools; it is ridiculous to suggest that he or she will not learn social skills in the primary classroom: the home.
Parents who school their own children obviously ensure that their children enjoy social interactions on different levels. These interactions could happen during the course of a normal family day such as taking children to birthday parties or family functions; or could even be structured outings organized by a small group of parents who home school their children. Socialization is a natural process which occurs by virtue of the fact that one is a member of human society. There is no evidence to suggest that this process can only occur if a child attends a mainstream school.
Those against the home schooling option will tell you that it cannot work because you will never know what grade your child is in and how he or she compares to his or her peers. Again, this supposed con is in fact a pro. Education cannot be placed into little boxes. A child's achievements should be reward enough, without having to compare oneself to others. As long as the exit or entry examinations are in the end, achieved, it does not matter if your child has done Grade 2 work for two years or completed it in 5 months. In a home classroom, parents take the lead from the child. Once a child has reached an outcome or milestone, one can move on without waiting for the rest of a class full of children to catch up.
The next con that you will hear is that your child will be excluded from participating in clubs, sports and activities which are offered at mainstream schools. This is not a problem as you can sign your child up for ballet class, music lessons and even at a local sports' club to participate in individual and team sports and extra mural activities. The only difference is that you will be able to steer your child into activities in which he or she is talented or interested; your child will not be forced into participating in a specific area.
If you are still unsure as to the wisdom of your choice to home school your children, simply browse the Internet and speak to others who have pursued this option and you will quickly realize that the pros far outweigh the cons.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Noeleen_Hart
Visit my blog on http://www.publicschoolsofsubstance.com for more ideas
The first hurdle to overcome then is to make your decision known to your family and close friends. If you struggle to find a supporter or support among them; stick to your decision and join a home schooling chat site or group. These parents, like teachers the world over, are always willing to share success stories and tips with their colleagues.
Another con which will be thrown out immediately by concerned family members and friends will be the mention of the red tape involved. Do your homework, approach the local school board and you will find that it is not so difficult to register your home school after all.
Many doomsayers will tell you that you will never manage to offer your child a daily learning routine such as that offered by mainstream schools. Herein lies the beauty of the home school. Learning need not end when a bell rings; learning need not be restricted to a single room; the day need not be broken up into artificial time slots to cover the three R's.
Parents who have successfully home schooled their child or children will tell you that unlike in traditional learning centers and schools, the home schooled child is able to work at his or her own pace. The child is able to engage in continuous learning inside the home classroom, outside in the garden and when participating in a family outing. The universe is the classroom for those lucky enough to enjoy the benefits of home schooling.
Probably the most often quoted con is that children who do not attend the local public school will never learn to get along with other children. The opponents will tell you that your child's socialization process will be stunted or retarded in some way. While your child may not be forced to interact with large groups of children on a daily basis as happens in the traditional schools; it is ridiculous to suggest that he or she will not learn social skills in the primary classroom: the home.
Parents who school their own children obviously ensure that their children enjoy social interactions on different levels. These interactions could happen during the course of a normal family day such as taking children to birthday parties or family functions; or could even be structured outings organized by a small group of parents who home school their children. Socialization is a natural process which occurs by virtue of the fact that one is a member of human society. There is no evidence to suggest that this process can only occur if a child attends a mainstream school.
Those against the home schooling option will tell you that it cannot work because you will never know what grade your child is in and how he or she compares to his or her peers. Again, this supposed con is in fact a pro. Education cannot be placed into little boxes. A child's achievements should be reward enough, without having to compare oneself to others. As long as the exit or entry examinations are in the end, achieved, it does not matter if your child has done Grade 2 work for two years or completed it in 5 months. In a home classroom, parents take the lead from the child. Once a child has reached an outcome or milestone, one can move on without waiting for the rest of a class full of children to catch up.
The next con that you will hear is that your child will be excluded from participating in clubs, sports and activities which are offered at mainstream schools. This is not a problem as you can sign your child up for ballet class, music lessons and even at a local sports' club to participate in individual and team sports and extra mural activities. The only difference is that you will be able to steer your child into activities in which he or she is talented or interested; your child will not be forced into participating in a specific area.
If you are still unsure as to the wisdom of your choice to home school your children, simply browse the Internet and speak to others who have pursued this option and you will quickly realize that the pros far outweigh the cons.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Noeleen_Hart
Visit my blog on http://www.publicschoolsofsubstance.com for more ideas
How to Find Resources for Homeschooling
Once your home school has been registered and you have enrolled your child or children to sit specific examinations, you will obviously receive course content, book lists, the curriculum and so on. Having established the core content and skills to be covered, you can begin identifying and obtaining your teaching resources.
It would be advisable to spend a few hours browsing the Internet to ascertain the best support sites for homeschooling resources. Parents who are operating on a limited budget will be relieved to discover that there are many free resources available for home school teachers. It would be advisable to join a community chat site or home school group where you will be able to communicate with many parents who share your passion for homeschooling.
It would be a good idea too to spend time reviewing the resources and handouts which are in use for your child's grade in a local mainstream school. Teachers the world over are always willing to share their most successful lesson ideas and resources with their colleagues.
Your most valuable teaching resource will be an Internet- enabled desktop or laptop computer. You can download lesson content, worksheets, assessment tasks, and marking rubrics from one of the many Internet resource sites for teachers and schools. You can encourage your child to play online mathematics games, take part in language quizzes and tests and do online research for assignments and projects, using the home classroom computer.
Browse the local libraries and booksellers and look at age-specific resources on display and sale. It is not always advisable to rush out and spend a fortune at a book shop, when there are so many free resources available. If one is starting teaching from Grade 1, simple e-books and stories can be downloaded for story time and mat work. Cardboard covers will ensure the downloaded books have a longer lifespan. Your child could decorate the covers using original artworks or drawings. Older children may require a few classic novels as part of their course content and money should be kept in reserve for these.
In many instances the home school teacher can make use of household items for teaching resource purposes. Younger children will require a play area containing a sand pit or sand table and a water play area. Measuring jugs, plastic cups, utensils and ice cream containers can be used in the sandpit or water area. If space is limited a small sand pit can be created using four treated planks of wood of sufficient width to enclose the sand. Any low plastic kiddies table with a large water basin on top will suffice for a homemade water play table.
Home school teachers should not overlook the many natural resources available. A nature walk collecting leaves, sticks, stones, feathers and so on could yield enough free resources to make a beautiful artwork. A big pot of glue, a large piece of paper or cardboard and items to paste will keep your child busy and learning essential skills at the same time.
There are many learning aids used in the mainstream classroom such as wooden shoes with lace holes to improve fine motor co-ordination skills. In the home school classroom, a large boot with laces will serve the same purpose. Bead threading kits can also be home-made. All you need is string and old cotton reels to thread, with a large bead tied at the bottom end of the string to prevent the cotton reels from slipping off the string while your child is busy. A large blunt darning needle and a bowl of popcorn also provides an ideal threading opportunity.
Specific skills such as classifying and sorting could be covered during the course of, for example, supper time preparations. Place the vegetables in a plastic dish on the floor and ask your child to sort them into types for cooking. Tidying a grocery cupboard and placing similar items on the shelves in groups, would serve the same purpose. A color classification task could be undertaken when one is separating the laundry on wash day.
Measurements and quantities are easily covered during the course of a cooking activity. Allow your child to measure out the ingredients, even if this takes longer and creates more mess than you would like. Use household groceries to make play dough (basic dough recipe with a lot more salt) and glue (simply mix flour and water). In this way you will be saving the expense of purchasing these items and creating non-toxic alternatives which are safer for your child. Cookie cutters and the like can be used to create an awareness of shapes when one is working with a biscuit dough, and these can be baked and eaten after the lesson is over.
One can use household items as counters too. Macaroni pieces work well. These can also be painted and threaded onto a string to make necklaces for a granny, a big sister or mom. Your house is full of resources for your home school, you just need to look around with a teacher's eye to spot the opportunities for learning which abound in your home and garden.
SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS THE EASY WAY: Now available at a very reasonable cost - 300 Quick and Easy Science Experiments. Compiled by an expert home school teacher; these experiments make use of household items and are very quick and easy to set up and clean up afterward. Simply click the link below and start having fun with science:
Click Here!
Make learning Mathematics fun, visit my blog at http://www.publicschoolsofsubstance.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Noeleen_Hart
It would be advisable to spend a few hours browsing the Internet to ascertain the best support sites for homeschooling resources. Parents who are operating on a limited budget will be relieved to discover that there are many free resources available for home school teachers. It would be advisable to join a community chat site or home school group where you will be able to communicate with many parents who share your passion for homeschooling.
It would be a good idea too to spend time reviewing the resources and handouts which are in use for your child's grade in a local mainstream school. Teachers the world over are always willing to share their most successful lesson ideas and resources with their colleagues.
Your most valuable teaching resource will be an Internet- enabled desktop or laptop computer. You can download lesson content, worksheets, assessment tasks, and marking rubrics from one of the many Internet resource sites for teachers and schools. You can encourage your child to play online mathematics games, take part in language quizzes and tests and do online research for assignments and projects, using the home classroom computer.
Browse the local libraries and booksellers and look at age-specific resources on display and sale. It is not always advisable to rush out and spend a fortune at a book shop, when there are so many free resources available. If one is starting teaching from Grade 1, simple e-books and stories can be downloaded for story time and mat work. Cardboard covers will ensure the downloaded books have a longer lifespan. Your child could decorate the covers using original artworks or drawings. Older children may require a few classic novels as part of their course content and money should be kept in reserve for these.
In many instances the home school teacher can make use of household items for teaching resource purposes. Younger children will require a play area containing a sand pit or sand table and a water play area. Measuring jugs, plastic cups, utensils and ice cream containers can be used in the sandpit or water area. If space is limited a small sand pit can be created using four treated planks of wood of sufficient width to enclose the sand. Any low plastic kiddies table with a large water basin on top will suffice for a homemade water play table.
Home school teachers should not overlook the many natural resources available. A nature walk collecting leaves, sticks, stones, feathers and so on could yield enough free resources to make a beautiful artwork. A big pot of glue, a large piece of paper or cardboard and items to paste will keep your child busy and learning essential skills at the same time.
There are many learning aids used in the mainstream classroom such as wooden shoes with lace holes to improve fine motor co-ordination skills. In the home school classroom, a large boot with laces will serve the same purpose. Bead threading kits can also be home-made. All you need is string and old cotton reels to thread, with a large bead tied at the bottom end of the string to prevent the cotton reels from slipping off the string while your child is busy. A large blunt darning needle and a bowl of popcorn also provides an ideal threading opportunity.
Specific skills such as classifying and sorting could be covered during the course of, for example, supper time preparations. Place the vegetables in a plastic dish on the floor and ask your child to sort them into types for cooking. Tidying a grocery cupboard and placing similar items on the shelves in groups, would serve the same purpose. A color classification task could be undertaken when one is separating the laundry on wash day.
Measurements and quantities are easily covered during the course of a cooking activity. Allow your child to measure out the ingredients, even if this takes longer and creates more mess than you would like. Use household groceries to make play dough (basic dough recipe with a lot more salt) and glue (simply mix flour and water). In this way you will be saving the expense of purchasing these items and creating non-toxic alternatives which are safer for your child. Cookie cutters and the like can be used to create an awareness of shapes when one is working with a biscuit dough, and these can be baked and eaten after the lesson is over.
One can use household items as counters too. Macaroni pieces work well. These can also be painted and threaded onto a string to make necklaces for a granny, a big sister or mom. Your house is full of resources for your home school, you just need to look around with a teacher's eye to spot the opportunities for learning which abound in your home and garden.
SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS THE EASY WAY: Now available at a very reasonable cost - 300 Quick and Easy Science Experiments. Compiled by an expert home school teacher; these experiments make use of household items and are very quick and easy to set up and clean up afterward. Simply click the link below and start having fun with science:
Click Here!
Make learning Mathematics fun, visit my blog at http://www.publicschoolsofsubstance.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Noeleen_Hart
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