Search Results for: blog homeschooling the creative child language arts

What Do You Do with a Child Who is Good at Math?

Creative Commons immage by D3 Dan/ Flickr Spellers have the spelling be. Budding scientists have science fairs and competitions. Student Geographers have geography bees. What do you do with little mathematicians? Alot of homeschooled kids seem to excel in math, but beyond assigning them good grades,parents are often at a loss as to what to do with that talent. Well, you can enroll them in contests. Apparently, there are numerous math competitions each year, many of them on a national level. The continental mathematics league is for grades 2 – AP High school level where there are several meets a … Continue reading →

Fourth Grade Language Arts Part 2

Fourth Grade language arts skills builds upon skills learned in previous years. Here is part 2 of the list of fourth grade language arts skills adapted from the World book website along with my suggestions for teaching these skills. Reading: A child’s reading materials must be varied and include short stories, chapter books, poetry, plays. Spelling: There are numerous workbooks and online references you can use for fourth grade spelling exercises as well as a list of words a fourth grader should know. My children loved using the Leapfrog Turbo game to practice spelling words during car trips. Increasing dictionary … Continue reading →

Homeschooling Week in Review June 1, 2007 – June 8, 2007

Last week on the homeschool blog, I started giving a bit of history and education, and included my hopes for the future. If you have a creative child, you will also want to read the homeschooling week in review for June 1- June 8, 2007 02 Jun 2007 Education and the Industrial Revolution by Andrea Hermitt Learn about the first public school, Boston Latin School, established in 1635 in Boston Massachusetts. It was modeled after the Free Grammar School in Boston England where Latin and Greek were taught. How Education restricts Homeschooling by Andrea Hermitt This post continues my series … Continue reading →

Homeschooling the Creative Child: Science and Social Studies

In my first post on Homeschooling the creative child I talked about how my high school chemistry teacher helped me tremendously by making Chemistry three dimensional for me and allowing me to draw pictures all over my test paper. He would often see the panic on my face at test time and say “just draw it… if you can draw it, then I know you know it.” Needless to say, he was one of my favorite teachers out of the many I had. Here are some tips you can use to homeschool your creative child science and social studies: Dioramas: … Continue reading →

Homeschooling the Creative Child: Language Arts

Language Arts can be a challenge for creative children. They could care less about nouns and verbs. Spelling and vocabulary can be boring. Writing a structured essay is incredibly painful. Here are some tools and techniques you can try to teach your creative homeschooler creative arts. Literature: The literature that I (as a creative person) have connected to and remember most is the literature that I acted out. Do not just have your children read books, but have them dramatize the books as well. Of course you cannot act out every single book your children read (or can you), but … Continue reading →

Homeschooling the Creative Child: Do You Have One?

As an artistic person, I am especially interested in educating creative kids. While creative children may very well be able to have an interest in art, history, science, and English, many will find these subjects inane and boring without a bit of creativity on the part of the instructor. How do you tell if you have a creative child? Creative children are often very capable of doing subjects outside art, but they are easily distracted when they do not find the subject fascinating. Besides a propensity to draw, sculpt, and create, a creative child will exhibit the following: During language … Continue reading →

2006 in Review: Homeschooling Blog at a Glance

As a new homeschooling blogger at Families.com, I wanted to know everything that has been discussed to date. In response to my own curiosity, and in an effort to make perusing our articles easier for you, our readers, I have compiled all of the blogs for the year 2006. Deciding to Homeschool Why homeschool Am I qualified for this? Reasons that Homeschooling Works! My Most Important Advice for Homeschoolers. The Cost of Homeschooling Instead of standing up for their own kids, why not stand up for all kids? Disclaimer: I am hardly an expert in education. Did You Know? ‘Empirical … Continue reading →

What Your Second Grader Needs to Know: Language Arts

* Reading silently for purpose I want to note here that while this is a second grade suggestion, your child should begin reading silently as soon as he is capable. * Dramatizations and interpretative or oral reading This is simple to practice while your child reads out loud to you. Start by asking your child to note punctuation such as question marks or exclamation points. Then encourage him to use inflection with his voice as is appropriate. At first, it may seemed forced but in time, your child will learn to read with feeling. A note on why this is … Continue reading →

Before Five in a Row

Product: Before Five in a Row Age Level: 2-4 years old Format: Softcover book Price: $35.00 What is Before Five in a Row? Not to leave out the eager younger children, this volume provides mini Five in a Row- style lessons for youngsters. This book; however, is divided into two parts, the first being similar to the other curriculum guides. Just as in the original series, each unit is built around a simple, classic children’s storybook. This book differs from the older volumes in that it is not structured around a week. The purpose is simply to provide an array … Continue reading →

Learning to Spell Through Dictation

Dictation is the process where the parent speaks while the child transcribes exactly what the parent is saying. This is a method used by, but not limited to those who follow the Charlotte Mason approach to home schooling. Dictation is primarily used to reinforce grammar and spelling skills. This is an effective method if done correctly and consistently. For the purpose of this blog I will focus on how dictation can be used to master spelling. The first step is to choose a passage from your child’s reading, the Bible, a Hymn, etc. to use for dictation. Give your child … Continue reading →