Telling Time Lapbook 1st grade

You don't need to home school to use this idea.  It is fun for the kids and they learn at the same time.
I have been wanting to make more lap books for my daughter. They are a great way to organize ideas and learning material in one folder.
My latest lapbook is for telling time. I was able to find this at mrprintables.com. I took those printable's and made my own lapbook layout.

Cover sheet.

this is the first center flap. On each side you can glue small envelopes. I made these envelopes with color paper. I placed the numbers in the orange envelope on the right. Then the words on the left in the blue envelope. 

here is the second flap with the clock and the hour and minute hands.

Here is a link for how to make lapbooks. http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2013/03/how-to-make-a-lapbook-video-tutorial.html#comment-190120 

 There are many websites and videos on how to make these. Just go for it. 

If you have made a lapbook about telling time let me know how you did it.

Happy Homeschooling.

A few of my favorite Homeschool things.

These are a few of my favorite things.  Things  we get to do during school. These pics are highlights of some of the fun activities we get to do on a school day. We went to the zoo on a weekday. The kids were able to just run around and see everything they wanted with no crowds.  There were lessons on animals while we walked, talked, played and observed.

Measuring the height of an animals jump compared to our own at the zoo on a Tuesday.

Building a birds nest outside just because they wanted to.

Driveway Artwork.

Siblings reading together during school

The beginning of the birds nest.

        Not everyday is like this but we get to do this more often because we are on our own time. When the children built the nest it was their own idea. They inspire everyday with new ways to approach learning.  My 6 year old daughter sorted everything out and had her brother helping her. I used that opportunity to speak of Eagles and how their nest is the largest yet they are not the largest bird. Something we had learned at the zoo.

        Homeschooling can be a challenge like any good thing in life. I question myself and my decisions sometimes. Then there are days when my children s imagination can run wild and learning takes a new path. I try and pray everyday to be patient and to have an open mind. I have a schedule that can be adjusted at any moment. I have three young children and I can not expect them to be open about learning and expand their idea of what school is if I do nothing but stick to the schedule. 

History and goegraphy lesson

        I am still learning how to come up with fun ways to teach without a set curriculum.  I enjoy it but its also challenging finding different sources and new information.
Today we covered history,  The Ice Age and Civilization.
      I used "What your first grader needs to know. " book as a guide. Then supplemented with other resources.

I started on the chapter on history. It was fun reading this with the kids. We talked about how they lived.  Archeology and how they find things from that time.

   Once we read about the Ice Age and how they roamed to hunt and gather food. We were able to tie in how civilization began, how they settled and where civilization began. 

    I had my children build the world map and also spoke of the seven continents. 

    This lesson was an excellent way to tie in other subjects. History is a great way to teach about science, geography, foods we eat and culture.

     This lesson really helped me get excited again about home school. It can be exhausting at times. I want to do my best and not short change my children. I want their education to be exciting to them but also for me. Lessons like this make it worth while. Seeing the children excited to learn. They ask questions that I can not answer quick enough. That is one great aspect of homeschooling.  They can ask questions and I will help them find the answer.

   If you have any ideas that can be added to this lesson I would love to hear about them. 

Why I home school.

I have read many blogs and many of the parents home school for many of the same reasons. Some reasons may overlap and and some are different. The most common theme I see is giving your children something better.  A better education, a loving environment, a better way of seeing the world.  These are some of my reasons.  When my daughter was born 6 years ago I thought about homeschooling but I never knew anyone who had done it. I had no information on it and it seemed very different. Such an unconventional way of doing things, It still is. I do not get offended if people do not understand my reasoning behind my educating my children. If someone asks its an opportunity for me to let others know about what I know.  Just like most things in life if it does not concern you as an individual you do not take the time out to find out about it.  I did extensive research when I decided that home schooling was an option I was thinking about.
Today my husband and I were reflecting o n how far we had come as a family in respect to my daughters education and the effects it had on us overall.  I want to inform you that when I told my husband I wanted to homeshool he was hesitant.  I needed to make sure we all wanted to homeschool before I made the leap.  I had given my husband a lot of information and became even more informed while trying to show him what I believed would be best. I asked him how he felt so far about my homeschooling? And does he feel my daughter is learning enough?
My hubby said he is happy with our decision. The only thing he worries about is if they will have a problem if they enter public school again. But its not my biggest concern yet.
Today we listened to jazz and ate lunch by the rain. Yes our days can be chaotic sometimes but days like today are priceless.

Accidentally UnSchooling.

Home schooling has been a challenge to say the least. Some days I wonder why am I doing this? but most days I know exactly why.  Yesterday I took the kids to the library just to hang out, get some books, change the environment. And it was wonderful.  The kids mostly played but they behaved so well. I was able to look for books, read a little, and feed the baby. It was absolutely beautiful. The kids even did a library project that they had at the table, some cutting and gluing.
At the end of the library trip my daughter wanted to take out a movie, so I made a deal with her. I said "if you want the movie read me that book you are looking at." She was looking at "Happy Halloween Biscuit." She said "ok." She proceeded to read the book. She needed some help with a few words but for the most part she did it herself and she was smiling and enjoying herself. I really do not know when this happened. Now that I write about it we took a about a week and half off just to hang out with dad because he took some days of of work. looking back I see that not pushing her in her phonics lessons has helped.  Yes I helped with some of the foundation phonics but I think I may have been pushing too hard to have her reading that it may have pushed he away. I am an avid reader. I just am.  No one in my family growing up read. I just loved it. I guess I want my children to desire to read like me. But I can not go about it the regular school way.  I borrowed about twenty books from library. Hoping to spark some desire in them. My daughter always makes me laugh because I want them to be interested in one thing and she surprises me and wants the opposite.  I got many books on pumpkins and animals.  She chooses the book I got for my son on wolves.  Children are amazing and I need to step back most of the time and watch them be children.  Yes I must guide them, yes I am their teacher, but not the teacher that I grew up knowing. A new teacher, a mentor, maybe even sensei.
Accidentally unschooling is only word I have for it. Because every article i read on unschooling  seemed to me that parents were being lazy. When in fact its harder to let go. It takes more faith to let your children grow without a schedule, without the standard list telling you exactly what they need to know.
I do not know where we will head from here. I headed in to this not knowing where I would start but I did it. So I know anything is possible.  Now  just have to get my lazy but up and do something about it.

Mornings are beautiful

I do not have much time to spend writing but I must say mornings are beautiful being a stay at home and homeschooling. There are no other words to describe how wonderful it is to wake up and get things ready for the morning and then wait for the children to wake up.  Penny was in kindergarten last year and that was stressful. Trying to get her ready and alert in the morning was like pulling teeth from a bear.  It was not a pretty sight.
Homeschooling is truly a challenge but I love it. Mornings like today confirm it. Yesterday was a stressful day. I think it may be because we did not go to church. We have started attending a church in our neighborhood and it has been great for our family. I truly feel that because I missed that day in the week to become refreshed and to recharge my batteries for the week spiritually it affected me.  I will try to make it a point to make that time to go to church again. I used to go all the time even when I had Penelope. Then it was easier toting one little baby around. But having three should not be an excuse.  I know myself and I know I need to have my spiritual life fed or I can unravel. I know it is my responsibility to go to God anytime because he is there but it honestly helps when you are surrounded by other like minded people.
Today I want to have a productive day even with the challenges.
I love my family.

Different Strokes For Different Folks.

So the saying goes. And I am glad that I can choose what path of education I will give my children. I am learning everyday that this is harder than I could have imagined.  That being said, its an a amazing challenge and I am so happy that I can meet this challenge and grow from it.
I really did not know how I was going to approach my homeschooling style.  There is a tone of information out there. And it can be confusing.  There are so many different homeschooling styles, on top of choosing curriculum.  It can be a daunting task. I thought I would start home school and my right from the start my daughter would be behind.
The challenges are real and it can be frustrating trying to figure out exactly what is right for your child. And you read other homeschooling blogs or books you will see that everyone chooses what is best for their child and what they want to teach them.  Learning how my daughter learns has been hard.  She has more energy then ten children but her desire to learn is so large. In kindergarten they said she passed a check list. They said she was able to count to 100 and read certain words.  Yes she learned a lot in kindergarten but how much of that stuck? I found out not much.  I was watching videos of when she was a toddler and she had learned so much from me.  now I have to start from the beginning because she has a hard time reading and she does not like to do it.  So I am finding new ways to show her how amazing reading can be.  It is a one day a time thing.  The local library has a read to a therapy dog day and she enjoyed that.  I hope she is encouraged to read more if we do this more often. She always says "mom is it going to be fun.?' And I can tell she thinks learning is boring.  And honestly we all know some of it can be. But that does not have to be the end all and be all of lerning. especially for children.
I am reading "How children Learn." By John Holt.  He says "What teachers and learners need to know is what we have known for some time: first, that vivid, vital, pleasurable experiences are the easiest to remember, and secondly, that memory works best when unforced..." I want to learn how teach in this way.  I want to be able to help things stick in my children s minds and have them enjoy learning at the same time.
Last week I read them a small printed book on "why leaves change color?"
We read it, spoke about it, and then went outside to have fun.  They happened to pick up some leaves so I asked her for a spot on, playground oral report on why leaves change? I did not tell her that is what it was. but she did it enthusiastically and she did so well. My husband watched the video I took of her telling me how leaves change and he said he learned something new. It was an amazing thing to see.  It was not just facts it was real. And she felt it and she was able to take her time seeing it happen. Not stuck in a room reading a textbook answering unimportant questions.