24. March 2009 by Shannon.

When it’s been a while since I’ve posted a real “how-to” notebook/lapbook post… but I was just so inspired by a “nothing” thing that my friend had lying around on her kitchen table.  I SNATCHED it up as fast as I could and BEGGED her to show me how she did it… and now I’m gonna show you!  (Yes, I asked her permission to share it, she laughed at me and said, “of course”.. the poor girl didn’t even know what she had sitting in front of her.. so simple, yet so brilliant! LOL!).  SO.. here, my dear Readers, is ONE MORE WAY to include those unit notebook pages into your lapbooks:

(in steps)

STEP ONE:  Take a LEGAL sized folder (it has to be LEGAL… I don’t do illegal around here.. *wink*)

 STEP 2:  Open the folder.

 STEP 3:  Fold up the bottom quarter till the side edges meet (see next picture before pressing that fold down!)

 MAKE SURE THE BOTTOM EDGE MATCHES THE ‘CURVE’ OF THE LABEL SECTION!  This is critical, and it also makes it much easier to have this little “guide” for your fold:

 STEP 4:  Resume normal lapbook folding - fold both flaps in to the middle seam.

 STEP 5:  Voilà!  A Notepack pocket to put those little notebook pages in.  NOW… before I get “comments” that the pages will just fall out, you can ALWAYS slip a little paper clip at the top of the folder to hold the tops of the pages in.  You can also stick all your minit books around it, behind it, on the flip up bottom, same as usual.  AND if you cut off a mere 3/4 inch off a letter-sized folder, it’ll stick side edge to side edge just right and you have yourself a double lapbook with notepack on one side.  PERFECT!

So there you have it… Enjoy!

OH… and if your fingers are just itchin’ to do a lapbook now, head on over to Currclick and check out this week’s FREEBIE!  Hands of a Child has been gracious enough to offer up their fantastic Amelia Earheart Project Pack as this week’s free download!  Don’t miss out, download it today (it’ll be changed to a new freebie on the 30th of March!).  Also, while you are there, be sure to sign up for the Currclick newsletter which keeps you up to date on the latest freebie being offered!

Blessings!

Posted in Notebooks, LapBooks, Great Ideas, General Homeschool | Print | 1 Comment »

20. March 2009 by Shannon.

WELL!  We had my neice, Bethanie, staying with us this week to give her mom a little break… and what a blast we had!!!  We visited a museum, went to a nature preserve (kinda, it’s for wounded animals from the St Lawrence Seaway), made the St Patricks’ Day lapbook from Hands of a Child (our favourite school activity!), played games, played outside in the wonderful spring weather, laughed a LOT (Beth has a contagious laugh!) and just enjoyed having her as part of our family for the week.  It makes me want to steal her more often! *grin*

Here are Greyson and Chaeli’s First Ever in their Lives LAPBOOKS! *applause*

Blessings!

Posted in LapBooks, Chaeli, Greyson, Bragging, General Homeschool | Print | 3 Comments »

19. March 2009 by Shannon.

A good friend recently posed the question, “What are your concerns for the homeschooling community?” 

I’m ashamed to say that one of my biggest concerns about/for homeschooling is the unfortunate lack of proper social skills (not socialization, which is how we relate to others, but social skills as in “we do not pick our noses in restaurants” and “we don’t barge to the front of the group so we can see, we wait our turn”).

These are areas that although many homeschoolers have well covered (it’s easy to teach in a small group), SO many more have not. Every child who is homeschooled is an Ambassador for homeschooling… and their behaviours reflect strongly on the rest of our still very fragile community. I’ve seen places actually REFUSE to take homeschool groups because even though it seems reasonable to think that with all the parents there, the kids will be better supervised, it does not work out that way. Homeschooler parents tend to congregate for “moral support” and many children take this “distracted teacher time” to show off all that is wrong with the “school yard” mindset… and it makes us ALL look like a bunch of slackers with no social skills.

This has been playing on my heart heavily lately as I’ve been to a few gatherings of homeschoolers and watched the children act like zoo animals at feeding time while the parents sit over here or over there deep in conversation. UNFORTUNATELY this is something that I kind of like about school kids… they learn how to be quiet and listen when the “teacher” (museum guide, animator, workshop leader) is talking and to wait their turns in asking questions, and file patiently past the exhibit to get their chance to see it. YES, sometimes that means that the student that is most interested gets the same amount of exposure as the absolutely couldn’t care less student… and that is where we *can* be different… we can let the interested student have more time, but that not interested student should ALSO know to behave in an appropriate manner, EVEN when he’s not the most interested in the crowd rather than tearing through the place with his voice at a dangerous decibel level wreaking havoc every where he goes. You know?

I think EVERY STUDENT, schooled or homeschooled (with the exception of one small lesson, the one on profanity, I just duct taped over that one), should take the Connect the Thoughts Manners course. It is an excellent course which addresses issues on manners from personal hygiene to behaving politely to (get this) THANKING your parents for all they do for you!!

I know that it *is* possible for children to go to a museum or other activity and behave civilly… my children do most of the time, and when one of my chidlren starts to get excitable and I start to see the warning signs that they’re about to step into dangerous grounds, I reel them back in, give them a reminder of what it means like to behave politely, and send them back out again… but keeping my eyes peeled for more warning signs.

In schools, the teachers and other chaperons do their best to remind students of the rules, briefing them before leaving, upon arriving, and reprimanding students who break the rules… why can’t we do the same… prep our kids, remind our kids, and then reprimand them when it is needed when THEY go out into public places.

Remember, our children might be the only OTHER homeschool family someone’s non-homeschool-friendly-in-laws might ever see! We need to think bigger than our own little homeschools.

Off my soapbox…

Blessings!

Posted in General Homeschool | Print | 3 Comments »

15. March 2009 by Shannon.

Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device, trade named BOOK™.

BOOK™ is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It’s so easy to use even a child can operate it. Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere–even sitting in an armchair by the fire–yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc. Here’s how it works:

BOOK™ is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. The pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binding that keeps the sheets in their correct sequence. Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufactures to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs. Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now, BOOK™s with more information simply use more pages. Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet.

BOOK™ may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening it. BOOK™ never crashes or requires rebooting, though like other display devices it can become unusable if dropped overboard. The “browse” feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an “index” feature that pinpoints the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval.

An optional “BOOKMARK™” accessory allows you to open BOOK™ to the exact place you left it in a previous session, even if the BOOK™ has been closed. BOOKMARKS™ fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKMARK™ can be used by various manufactures. Conversely, numerous BOOKMARKS™ can be used in a single BOOK™ if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the number of pages in the BOOK™.

You can also make personal notes next to BOOK™ text entries with an optional programming tool, the Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus (PENCILS™).

Portable, durable, and affordable, BOOK™ is being hailed as a precursor of a new entertainment wave. Also, BOOK™’s appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking. Look for a flood of new titles soon.

(author unknown)

Blessings!

Posted in Great Finds | Print | 1 Comment »

2. March 2009 by Shannon.

Gosh-Goodness I’ve been away a while!!!

I am so sorry to my readers (if there are any left!) for being away so long.  We have been so busy around here with school, reviewing, and well, just life as a Mom of Four, really.  So…  I’m BACK!

What’s been happening while I was gone?  Well, let’s see.. There was Christmas… that went very well.  We had a wonderful year spent quietly with just the family around the Christmas Tree… playing with the Casio Keyboard we got them, reading their new books and listening to the wonderful Scripture Songs CDs we got the Littles (Hermie and Wormie - who knew these guys were so GOOD?!). 

With January came back to school… we started out a little rough, like most schools (private/public or home)… but after about a week we managed to find out “groove” again.  In February (what a short month that is… you wouldn’t think that losing just a couple of days off the end would make the month go by so fast!), we celebrated with Daddy (Tony) as he gracefully added another year to his age… he’s an “old man” of 38 now!  He got a new kitten for his birthday, then a co-worker blessed him with another cat … so from none to two in less than a week! 

Then came Valentine’s Day, where Greyson learned all about telling others (and God!) how much he loves them.  He spent the month making love-notes for everyone… with his adorable spelling.  Here’s one of his notes:

“I luv Guod.  I wish oters wer nues tu Guod.”

Translation:
“I love God.  I wish others were nice to God”

(okay, we know what subject we’re handling FIRST next year!!! LOL!  Phonics down, SPELLING up next! LOL!)

March is here… it came in like a lamb, so according to my mom that means we’ll be having a nasty blizzard sometime around the end of the month.  I hope not, I’d hate to go into April up to my armpits in snow… but then, last year we had that CRAZY SNOW on the 7th of March… and by Chaeli’s birthday (April 12th) it was gorgeous out… so maybe it’s anytime in the first half of the month?

Both Ev and Kenzi are in a drama class this winter/spring season… I’m looking forward to seeing how it all goes for them, as Kenzi had a less than wonderful experience in a different drama class last year.  This particular class is hosted by a christian homeschool friend of mine, so I have a bit more confidence in it.  Greyson and Chaeli are busy being little… everything is an adventure… an empty box is made into a really cool cat house, a bag of rocks becomes a village of rock people, and any plan they over hearing you talk about means it’s happening right now… so be careful when mentioning a camping trip being planned for the summer as your likely to find a couple of backpacks filled to the brim with stuffies and toothbrushes by the front door next time you try to let the dog out!  Time is a concept lost on them… wish it worked that way for me… time just seems to be rushing by this year… busy-ness will do that to a person, eh?

How have YOU been since Christmas?  

Blessings!

Posted in Chaeli, Greyson, Kenzi, Everett, General Homeschool | Print | 3 Comments »