Learning is Fun

Apparently the fact that homeschoolers are proving to out do their counterparts in spelling bees, geography bees and math competitions makes them ineligible to enter Subway’s creative writing contest designed for school aged children.

Now I know that homeschoolers do tend to sound more intelligent than their chronological age, but that does not change the fact that they are school-aged?

Seriously though, Subway’s creative writing contest does specifically exclude homeschoolers and this exclusion can be interpreted one of two ways . . .

Either Subway believes:

Whether either of these two interpretations are valid, the fact is Subway’s decision to exclude homeschoolers is an affront to the homeschool community and should not be ignored.

Their claim, I am sure, is that they decided to exclude homeschoolers because the grand prize is $5000 of athletic equipment for the child’s school.

Subway, may I suggest that since homeschoolers do tend to be strong supporters of their community and heavily involved in community service, they could easily find a good home for the promised athletic equipment?

Next time you decide to run a contest, consider the ramifications of excluding over two million school aged children!

Many are calling for a boycott of Subway; however, I would add that we also need to make our voices heard. Click here to let Subway know how offensive they have been.

Or click here to enter the contest anyway.

But remember:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Contest is open only to legal residents of the Untied (sic) States who are currently over the age of 18 and have children who attend elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted.

. . . so if you do win, you may have to forfeit the prize.

But wouldn’t it be something if the top three selections were written by homeschoolers?

That would put them in an interesting spot wouldn’t it?

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My family and I are currently on vacation in Mexico.  Although we are taking plenty of time to relax and rejuvinate, we are also finding plenty of ways to make our trip educational.  Thus, many of our days here will be included in our 180 days of school.

On day one, we took a guided tour of the zoo that is here on the premises as well as a special animal lover’s workshop.  We are staying in an ecological preserve where we have seen many native animals including crocodiles, serpents, monkeys, birds, etc. 

Through the two programs, we learned more about these native animals than we have ever heard before despite our participation in a regular zoo program at home.  The kids were fascinated by the baby crocodiles (which they were permitted to hold), as well as the many unique animals in the preserve. 

I intend to count day one as a science day. 

Day three will also be counted as a science day.  On day three, we headed to a nearby national park lagoon, where we snorkeled for the day, learned about the many different species of fish and appreciated the beautiful jungle.

I will count day four as a social studies day.  On day four, we spent the morning touring the nearby Mayan ruins of the city of Tulum. 

Our tour guide–a native Mayan–was absolutely outstanding.  He is very proud of his heritage and its traditions–many of which he and his people still practice today (including animal sacrifices, purification ceremonies, and–sadly–childhood marriages).  Because of this fierce pride, his presentation was easy to follow and intriguing.  My kids cannot wait to return home and share what they have learned with their friends who are studying the Mayans now.

What will the remainder of our vacation bring?  I am not sure that we will continue with educational field trips, but I do know that what we have learned in the three “homeschool field trip days” will be remembered much longer than anything they could have learned from a textbook.

Don’t hesitate to make your vacation part of your school day.  Homeschoolers and field trips go hand in hand. 

If you don’t have immediate access to cultural tours or science related field trips, put together a project that can be completed during your stay.  For example, if you are on the beach, collect shells and identify them, see how many different species of seaweed you can find, or search tidal pools for sea life.  If you are in the mountains, hike through the beauty around you, interview those who live in your vacation spot to learn about the native plants and animals, or create your own scavenger hunt that requires some real exploration.   

For some, the preparation for special projects seems daunting.  However, we have found that these projects not only provide educational opportunities for our kids, but also some much needed down time for us. 

Technorati Tags: Educational field trips, Homeschool field trips, homeschool science, homeschool social studies

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Mother’s Day is such a wonderful day. I love the homemade  gifts my kids have given me throughout the years. My husband bought me beautiful roses one year but my favorite flowers are the bouquets of a variety of type of flowers.

I have put some fun Mother’s Day coloring pages up on Learning Treasures. One of the Mother’s Day coloring pages is of a mom as queen with dad in the background. The other is a lovely heart with roses that says I love mom. Just click on the links above to go to the coloring pages.

I hope your Mother’s Day is happy and blessed,

Belinda

Cooking with Kids

Science is so much fun once you get out there and get exploring. Kids of all ages enjoy science but science with young children can be wonderful. They have eyes full of wonderment at the world around them. They are ready to explore wherever you will take them.

Here is a neat experiment that involves using miniature parachute you make. It shows kids that even though they can’t see it - air does take up space. You won’t want to miss out on this fun science experiment. My daughter enjoys this type of thing immensely! After you have done the experiment share your results with me here.

When you are done science for the day why not spend some time with your kids in the kitchen cooking up some fun snacks?

Happy Home Schooling,

Belinda

My kids love notebooks. We have had science notebooks, history notebooks, for fun note books - you name it. Our history and science notebooks are a cross between a notebook and a lapbook. We add pockets, file folders with 3-D objects, coloring pages, worksheets and pictures of finished projects.  One of my favorite books for learning how to make all kinds of wonderful things - folded books, layered books, etc - is Dinah Zike’s Big Book of Activities.

But I have to say my family’s favorite notebook is our animal notebooks. My kids are crazy about all kinds of animals and this is a great way to enjoy science. If you have never done one my article, Make an Animal Notebook, will get you started. With spring in full swing here I am thinking of doing an animal a day in our notebooks. And, of course, I will share my printables with everyone!

If you are working on a science notebook with your kids you can find lots of coloring pages, worksheets and dividers for your notebook at Learning Treasures. Please check back daily as I am busy uploading TONS of them as fast as I can.

I would love to hear what your family is doing for science!

Belinda

It finally seems like spring here in Oklahoma City. The weather is warm outside today - in the 80’s but with just enough breeze blowing to make it feel wonderful! The warmer weather also brings out the bugs. Now while that sounds like a bad thing to many of us - it is a great science opportunity.

Actually I love bugs. They are fun so much fun to study. Most 4-H offices have an entomology (the study of insects) project. You can probably get their book even if you aren’t in a 4-H club. If you want to collect bugs for a cool insect collection, one way to kill them is to put them in the freezer in a jar. It’s easy and non-messy.

I have added some links to some fun bug activities on my website - Learning Treasures. There is something for a wide variety of ages and many of them are great for group projects as well. You can Make a Crawling Ladybug, print a beetle coloring page and I will be adding ladybug counting cards and other fun things this week too.

Oh an if you haven’t created an Animal Notebook yet - what are you waiting for? That is the perfect place to store all your buggy creations. (Hint - take pictures of the crafts and projects you make and include them in your notebook.)

Happy Learning,

Belinda

Cooking with Kids Kids Kreate Dinners in the Freezer

As a home school mom of 7 I have learned over the years you have to make learning fun for your kids. Well, you don’t actually HAVE to but it sure makes a difference in your kids. Learning and school can be both interesting and fun - even if you are using a set curriculum. There are always ways to add spark to your learning. I will be sharing with you what our family is doing, fun and practical ways of parenting and how to put some pizazz in your home school. So visit often, share your thoughts and let’s enjoy learning together.

A wonderful resource for beginning on your learning journey is my site Learning Treasures. You can find all kinds of resources - from mini unit studies to spelling worksheets, science, phonics, history and much more.

Happy Learning,

Belinda

Cooking with Kids Kids Kreate Dinners in the Freezer Learning Treasures