Meet Star-Striker–the inspiration for this week’s delight-directed study. Jason found it, the boys named it, and I grabbed Pet Bugs in a Jar to figure out how to house it. Elijah observed this guy for awhile and decided he wanted to learn more, so I printed off some of the Praying Mantis lapbook from HSS and […]
Goofy Gecko!
Another exciting week of learning with Download N Go. Elijah's choice this week was Goofy Gecko. Elijah is measuring his foot (yes, on my desk!) to see if his foot is longer than a Madagascar giant day gecko. Download N Go does a great job making things relevant for kids. Here are some pages from […]
Chocolate Challenge!
Study chocolate? Oh YES! This was our second time enjoying this rich topic. We briefly touched on it when we studied the rain forest. This time was better because we devoted an entire week to chocolate. Yum. This is our third Download N Go experience, and I must confess– I heart Download N Go. Try it, […]
Learning with LEGO
Elijah spent last week learning with LEGO using the digital unit I prepared for him. He spent four days watching videos about LEGOs, completing building challenges and creating a Lap-N-Note ™. Putting the lapbook together. Completed Lap-N-Note ™ Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Elijah’s coolest creation of the week–
A Free Range Education Produces Curious Kids
Once upon a time there was an English teacher. When asked what she taught, she would reply, "literature" or "writing." Once upon a time the same teacher eventually realized she wasn't teaching "literature" or "writing." She was teaching students. Once upon a time that very teacher became a mom then a homeschooling mom. She taught her little […]
Elementary Chemistry: Mad Science!
My friend, Ginger, inspired me to make a summer adventure box for Elijah. She has been doing this for about five years with her own children. Summer adventure boxes are a wonderful way to keep the learning alive through the summer months. Elijah has been asking to blend potions and mix concoctions. I decided to surprise […]
Astronaut Adventures
Mission: Have fun learning with the Astronaut Mini-Unit Status: Complete ~prepping some mini-books ~working through the videos, interactive websites, and astronaut information Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Elijah’s next exploration is "Mad Science!" Who says summer school can’t be fun?! š
Independent Study: Astronauts
Yesterday, Elijah asked if I would give him something about astronauts. I didn’t really know what to give him. He’s read the only two astronaut books we have (John Glenn: Young Astronaut and Neil Armstrong: Young Flyer) dozens of times. I decided to try something new for him–an independent study of sorts. So, last night I […]
Delight-Directed Update
pattern block creation Elijah constructed in his free time Getting the hang of this delight-directed thing is still hard for me. I don’t know if I make it harder than it is, or if I just like to agonize over my child’s education. Probably both! But, I’m learning. Here are some of the things I’ve […]
Making a U-turn
I don’t know who learned more yesterday. While Elijah was building robots, I was in the background. I listened to my not-so-little-boy work through some problems. He had to decide which way to cross the belt. He had to figure out why the birds weren’t dancing. He had to learn new commands with the computer […]
Elijah in Lego Land
About six months ago I asked Elijah for a list of things he wanted to study. Robots was on the list. Um-hum and oh-no. You see, once something gets on Elijah’s want-to-study list, it stays there for a very long time…and this particular subject is more like at the tippy top of the want-to […]
Special Delivery from Canada
Our co-op decided to have a geography fair this year. We wanted to give family & friends a chance to see some of the work our students do; we also wanted to give our students a chance to shine. When I asked Elijah what country he wanted to do, he was insistent on Canada. I […]
Points to Ponder
We are moving our homeschool in a new direction. I'm not sure exactly what this will look like. We are keeping math and some language arts, but I want to try to dive in to (instead of just dabble with) delight-directed education. Elijah will get to decide what he's going to learn about, about 80% […]
Dog Family Lapbook
While studying desert, Elijah decided he really wanted to start his own Dog Family Lapbook (inspired by coyote). He wants to include various foxes, wolves, and breeds of dogs. I did not want to design a Dog Family Lapbook. I decided I would just give him the tools he needed to do it himself. I […]
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Lapbook
Yesterday Elijah saw his Alice in Wonderland stickers and announced that he really wanted to do an Alice in Wonderland Lapbook (we read the book a few months ago). I gave him my reference lapbook and told him to tell me what he wanted. He decided on a few things, and we went to work. […]
Weather Words Lapbook
This week Elijah got to choose what we learned about. His choice? Weather! For the extention, we cut the right side off a file folder and paste the entire thing in to the lapbook. It opens on the right side. The printables are found here. Some of the answers Elijah wrote in, others he dictated […]
Space Lapbook (from July)
And, our little astronaut has been writing stories about Zerg, Spike, and Ziggit…and what life is like for these guys (two heroes and one villian) in space… Websites and Lapbook Finds Homeschool Share’s Space Lapbook Jimmie’s Space Lapbook Squidoo Lens Evan Moor’s Giant Science Resource Book Books by Gail Gibbons ~Galaxies, Galaxies ~The Planets […]
The Gap Theory
I was browsing some curriculum sites today, and one caught my eye with their bold claim– “ . . . you can feel confident knowing that your child is receiving a complete education with no gaps . . . ” Oh-no. Not the G-word. Gaps. Those huge holes in your child’s education that will remain empty because you didn’t cover […]
Dinosaur Lapbook
This really was a great unit for us. We were able to discuss creation, the fall of man, the effects of sin, and the flood while learning about dinosaurs at the same time! Cover Page (thanks Marie for the photo!) This lapbook is two file folders glued side by side. Here is the first folder: Here […]
Homophones Lapbook
After reading and rowing Truman’s Aunt Farm, Elijah wanted to learn all about homonyms/homophones…so, we did! We put the lyrics to the silly song with Larry on the cover. Inside of the lapbook – I left a workspace open (bottom center) for the which word cards and the puzzle matching. Matchbooks with definitions – find on […]