Tuesday, October 9th, 2007
I posted on Homeschool.com a few months ago in search of a pen pal for my son. I was lucky enough to connect with a mom who had a son the same age who lived in Canada! We’re helping our sons write back and forth to each other since they’re so young (5). My son was interested in learning more about Canada, so we went to the library yesterday and checked out several books on the topic. I hope this pen pal experience will become more than just a way for him to improve his language arts skills.
As long as he’s interested, we can get into science and social studies topics related to his pen pal’s home country. He can write his friend with questions and vice versa. The possibilities are endless. If you’re homeschooling, you might want to consider helping your child find an old-fashioned pen pal! It gives them a real reason to write, leads to exploration of related topics, and is just plain FUN!
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Thursday, August 9th, 2007
I was just reading about Spelling Power after hearing that they recommend formal instruction later on–8 and up. I love the sound of that because I believe in letting kids use inventive spelling to get their ideas out on paper when they’re young and not asking them to focus on correcting everything they write.
I haven’t used it personally but like everything I’ve read about it and will recommend it to clients from now on who are looking for spelling curriculum. Reviews can be found on the Spelling Power website and also on HomeschoolReviews.com.
Posted in Curriculum, Reading and Writing | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007
This is a great link to biographical info on children’s authors as well as links to their websites, related games, and activities. I used to do author studies with my class and had forgotten how much we enjoyed them until yesterday when I saw something on the topic.
I’m going to start a monthly author study with David…You basically read several books by a particular author, learn a bit about his/her life, look at how his books are alike/different, and then do a few related activities. Obviously everything would be tailored to the age and ability of the child. (And interest!)
For younger children I’d recommended authors such as Eric Carl, Laura Numeroff (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie), and Dr. Seuss. Now, in a perfect world, the culminating activity would be an actual VISIT with that children’s author!!! 
I don’t think we have the funds to make that happen though. Bummer! The point is that author studies are a great way for kids to delve deeper into children’s literature and see that there are “real people” behind these wonderful books and that they were children once too.
Anyway, here’s the link in case any of you are interested:
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/biochildhome.htm
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Wednesday, February 21st, 2007
Teaching spelling skills IN CONTEXT is more effective than teaching skills in isolation. Here’s an article with tips on how to help children discover spelling rules rather than just memorize them:
Spelling Strategies: Guiding Children to Discover Spelling Rules
See more of Diane’s articles on spelling here.
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Monday, December 4th, 2006
These are a few of the unschooling sites I have bookmarked recently. Enjoy!
What is Unschooling?
Unschooling means different things to different families. This is a nice page of definitions.
Unschooling Explanation from the Growing without School Site
This is probably my favorite definition because it’s the one I agree with most!
The World is our Classroom: A Course of Study for Unschooled Children
This is a great description of a “course of study” that unschooling families could turn in to meet their state requirements. It also can help those unfamiliar with unschooling gain a better understanding of how children learn through real life.
Life without School
This is a great online publication and blogging community for unschooling families.
Unschooling the Gifted Child
This is an informative article about unschooling your gifted child.
Delight-Driven Learning
This is a really great unschooling website with many articles!
African-American Unschooling
Site with unschooling information for African-American families.
Unschooling Links for Religious Families
Christian unschooling info and more! (Scroll down past ads.)
Do You Need to Teach Kindergarten?
Great article. I recommend checking out other resources on this site as well.
Unschooling.com
General unschooling page with message boards and more.
Radical Unschooling
Here’s radical unschooling information from Sandra Dodd’s website.
Posted in Child-Led Learning, Reading and Writing | No Comments »
