I teach art lessons in my home during the school year, and I have some students who have been coming for a number of years. As I was searching the Internet for new lessons, I came upon IncredibleArt.org — an incredible site for art ideas!

From the homepage, you can click on the “Lessons” link to enter the art lesson section. There you can access the lessons by grade level, beginning with kindergarten and continuing all the way through high school, as well as by medium, subject, art period, and artist. You’ll also find lessons integrating art with drama that include topics such as Italian Renaissance art (Brunelleschi and Da Vinci), Impressionism (Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec), and Post-Impressionism (Matisse), and a page containing links to various art games online.

The lessons on this site have been submitted by art teachers from around the country. Each lesson features a list of materials, the procedures for completing the lesson, and notes of any other resources or books you might use to teach the lesson. Grade level and ages are also indicated.

One of my favorite features of these lessons is the comments section at the end. Here you’ll often find notes from other teachers who have tried the lesson describing what worked, what didn’t work, and what might help the piece come out even better. You’ll find variations of the projects here as well.

Although these lessons are intended for teachers in a traditional classroom with a lot of students, they can easily be used for homeschooled students as well. You can use them as  art lessons by themselves or as part of a unit study. There are so many lessons at IncredibleArt, you’re sure to find several that not only relate to what your children are studying, but that are a lot of fun to do, too!

Homeschooling Reading Curriculum by SmartTutor.com

Story Time – Stories for Kids

Guest Blogger: Samantha Bell

It’s that time again — time to finalize plans for the coming school year. Perhaps you already have your lessons in order, but, if you’re like me, you still have a lot to do before you feel confident and prepared. While I have some plans about the curriculum we’re going to use, I’ve been getting ideas from other homeschooling friends and family about what’s worked for them and what new programs they’re going to try. I’ve also been looking at curriculum reviews online, and one of my favorites sites for this is CathyDuffyReviews.com.

Cathy Duffy is a veteran homeschooler and known as a curriculum specialist. Having homeschooled her own three boys through high school, she now researches curriculum and teaching methods for all grade levels. As one might suspect, then, her site is full of reviews of products for every subject you might teach, from preschool resources to core classes to the arts and other electives.

The site CathyDuffyReviews is easy to read and navigate through, as all of the subjects covered are listed in the buttons on the left. The first thing you’ll find are reviews of how-to books as well as price comparisons, both for those new to homeschooling and those who have taught for many years,

Next, you’ll find articles about the different methods of teaching, as well as an overview of publishers that produce materials for homeschooling. From there you can choose the subjects you’re interested in, and you can search through the reviews to find the curriculum that would best suit your family’s needs. There is also a book available entitled Top 100 Picks for Homeschooling Curriculum, and updates to this book can be found on the website as well.

So if you’re still in the planning stages for the fall, talk to other homeschoolers and give this site a try. You’ll find it to be informative, helpful, and full of great information!

Homeschooling Reading Curriculum by SmartTutor.com

Story Time – Stories for Kids

Guest Blogger: Samantha Bell

Picture By: MC Quinn

Finding books for your middle school student or young adult can sometimes be difficult, as the content in some of the books may not be a good fit for your family. Authors of works for older kids will often try to “push the envelope” by including scenes or language you might feel are inappropriate for your children to read.

How then, do you find summer reading choices for your older students without first reading every book yourself? While you might look for recommendations online or ask your librarian, you could also do what a friend of mine did and ask other homeschooling parents which books have been favorites for their families. Here’s what we came up with:

For Middle School Students:

• Esperanza Rising and Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan

• The Witch of Blackbird Pond and The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

• I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino

• The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg

• Dragons Gate by Lawrence Yep

• Crispin: Cross of Lead and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

• Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

• The Squire and the Scroll and The Princess and the Kiss by Jennie Bishop

• Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

• A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

• Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander

• The Wheel on the School by Meindert Dejong

• The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee

• The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood

• Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska

• Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

• Viking Quest series by Lois Walfrid Johnson

For High School Students:

• The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas

• Around the World in 80 Days and Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

• The Hawk that Dare Not Hunt by Day by Scott O’Dell

• Silas Mariner by George Eliot

• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain

• The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

• The Giver by Lois Lowry

• Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

• Animal Farm by George Orwell

• Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

• Christy by Catherine Marshall

• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

• The Pearl by John Steinbeck

• Les Miserable by Victor Hugo

• The Trumpeter from Krakow by Eric Kelly

• The Good Master by Kate Seredy

• The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok

• Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris

Homeschooling Reading Curriculum by SmartTutor.com

Story Time – Stories for Kids

Guest Blogger: Samantha Bell

Picture By: jackfre2-dropping mute contacts

Summer is a good time for me to catch up on some reading, especially when I’m sitting by the pool as the children swim. One of the books I just finished has served as a great reminder to me that even as a homeschooling mom, I can choose how I approach my daily work.

The book is Fish! by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen. The book follows Mary Jane, an office manager who is given the task of overhauling her department, one that the rest of the company calls a “toxic energy dump.” One day, as she takes a walk to consider her problem, she comes upon the world famous Pike’s Place Fish Market. Over the next couple of weeks, she talks to the workers, who reveal the four secret ingredients to their success:

1. Choose Your Attitude: Even though you can’t always do the work you love, you can choose to love your work. You can choose to approach it with a good attitude and determine to do it the best you can.
2. Play: Work doesn’t always have to be tedious. Find ways to make your work and work environment more fun.
3. Be Present: When you’re interacting with someone, give him your full attention.
4. Make Their Day: Think about what you can do for someone else.

What a great reminder! As a homeschooling parent, I often get bogged down with the workbooks, the schedules, the housekeeping and chores. The day becomes about “getting everything done” instead of enjoying what we are doing, which was one of the reasons we began homeschooling in the first place.

But we can have that same kind of energy, the same attitude as the workers at the fish market. We can approach the schoolwork (yes, even summer work) with a good attitude. We can add more learning games into our school day, and we can even have fun cleaning the house or working in the yard together. I can give my children my full attention when they talk to me or when I’m helping them with their lessons, and I can teach them to give that kind of attention and respect to each other. And we can learn to “make each others’ day.”

I’m already looking forward to the changes I’m going to see with my children as a result of this quick read. More than just about changing the work atmosphere, Fish! is about building character – theirs and mine.

Homeschooling Reading Curriculum by SmartTutor.com

Story Time – Stories for Kids

Guest Blogger: Samantha Bell

Picture By: gavinandrewstewart

The relaxed days of summer are a good time for children to try new things. If you’re child has an interest in learning a musical instrument, this might just be the season to start.

Studies have linked listening to music (particularly Mozart’s compositions) and playing music to an increased ability in spatial reasoning, the type of reasoning used when working on math or drawing. Adding music study into your curriculum also helps develop your child’s confidence and self-discipline.

If you don’t play a musical instrument yourself, don’t worry. There are many ways to find a music teacher for your child. Here are a few resources to consider:

• Family Members: Do you have relatives living close by? Is there a family member in your town who is proficient in playing a musical instrument? If he doesn’t already teach lessons, ask if he would consider starting out with your child.

• Friends: Ask your homeschooling friends if they play a musical instrument. Many times people will play while in school, then stop when they have families to take care of. Encourage your friend to pull out her instrument, dust it off, and give teaching a try. If you don’t have the funds to pay for the lessons, ask your friend if she will consider bartering her services; perhaps you could cook her a meal on lesson day, or help with babysitting or lawn care.

• Members of the Local Orchestra: Many larger cities have an orchestra or community band. Ask around to see if any of the members give private lessons.

• Music Store Employees: The music store in our town offers lessons for beginners on many instruments. If there’s a music store in your area, check to see if lessons are available there as well.

• High School and College Students: If your child is just beginning to play an instrument, consider hiring a student teacher. Ask the band director or department chair for recommendations.

With so many options, you can help your child start making music in no time!

Homeschooling Reading Curriculum by SmartTutor.com

Story Time – Stories for Kids

Guest Blogger: Samantha Bell

Picture By: woodleywonderworks

This week, I’ve been helping with an art camp for kids in our community, sponsored by the local artists’ association. Because my class was working on writing activities, the art teacher had the kids make their own books. They made two different styles:

1. The accordion-style: The theme of this art camp was “Art Around the World”, so when we talked about Asia, the children wrote their own haiku poem. After writing their rough drafts, they copied their poems on a rectangular piece of paper (about 8″ x 4″). We used vellum, but any paper would do. Then, they decorated two pieces of mat board (about 1.5″ x 6″) for the cover. They then folded the paper like a fan or accordion, glued the one end of each paper to a piece of mat board, and finished the book. To hold it together when it wasn’t being read, they tied it with gold string.

2. Traditional-style: This book also had a cover made of mat board, but you could use thin cardboard or even cardstock. After cutting the cover pieces and the pages to the desired size, the art instructor drilled two holes along the left edge of the books (you could use a hole punch with a thinner cover). We then laced a string through the holes and tied it off to hold the book together. This is an ideal style to use as a journal, nature journal, or storybook.

Though we only had time to make the two types of books, a quick search on the Internet will give you even more bookmaking ideas. A couple of sites to check out include:

BookmakingWithKids.com – This blog is full of resources for making books with children, from book structure, to writing ideas, to ways of incorporating bookmaking into your lessons.

MakingBooksWithChildren.com – Another great resource if you’re looking for bookmaking ideas, this site features instructions for making nine different types of books, as well as instructional ideas and writing prompts.

Summer is an ideal time to try new activities with your children, and bookmaking can be one of them. Give it a try; it may just inspire your family to keep writing the whole year through.

Homeschooling Reading Curriculum by SmartTutor.com

Story Time – Stories for Kids

Guest Blogger: Samantha Bell

Picture By: ejhogbin

This week, I’ve been teaching writing classes at a local art camp. The theme of the camp is “Art Around the World,” so in my lessons I’ve incorporated folktales from around the world. Throughout the week, the students will hear folktales from various countries, then they’ll work to write their own.

Although you can find folktales in print today, these stories were originally meant to be told orally, passed down from generation to generation. In a folktale, something magical usually happens, and often animals in the story act and behave like people. The stories will usually have a lesson or moral to them, or sometimes they try to explain how something came to be.

Folktales are easy to incorporate into your homeschool curriculum, especially if your family enjoys unit studies. As you study the culture of a particular country, you can find stories at your library from that country to read and discuss. Or, if your children are studying U.S. History, you could include Native American folk tales or folktales from the Appalachia region. You might also choose to use folktales as the basis or a writing lesson, like we’re doing at the camp.

If you’d like to make folktales a part of your school day, here are a few for you to consider:

• The Old Woman and Her Pig adapted by Eric Kimmel (British)

• Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan (African)

• Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears by Verda Aardema (African)

• The Boy Who Lived With the Bears retold by Joseph Bruchac (Native American – Iriquois)

• The First Strawberries retold by Joseph Bruchac (Native American – Cherokee)

• The Mud Pony retold by Caron Lee Cohen (Native American – Skidi Pawnee)

• The Boy Who Lived With Seals by Rafe Martin (Native American – Chinook)

• The King Who Tried to Fry an Egg on His Head by Mirra Ginsburg (Russian)

• Why Snails Have Shells retold by Carolyn Han (Chinese)

• Two of Everything by Lily Toy Hong (Chinese)

• Turtle Knows Your Name retold by Ashley Bryan (West Indies)

Homeschooling Reading Curriculum by SmartTutor.com

Story Time – Stories for Kids

Guest Blogger: Samantha Bell

Picture By: Pratham Books

During Memorial Day weekend, we gathered with extended family for our annual holiday/camping/family reunion in the mountains of Tennessee. While walking across one of the fields on Saturday, a group of us came across a very ugly insect struggling in the grass as it was molting. The weekend was full of other insect discoveries, as the children caught fireflies, moths, grasshoppers, and more, making summertime the perfect time for insect study.

In remote areas such as our campsite or in familiar areas such as your backyard and city park, your students can find six-legged creatures to catch, identify, and investigate. You can bring the insects home in a container, or you can have your child photograph them instead. Either way, you can use the opportunity to teach your child how to find out more about these animals.

There are many insect identification guides available, either in bookstores, online, or at your library. Some to look for include:

• Peterson First Guide to Insects of North America

• National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and SpidersKaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America

• National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders and Related Species of North AmericaThe Illustrated World Encyclopedia of Insects

• Insects of North America (Science Nature Guides)

• Insects (Golden Guides)

• Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs

If you don’t have time to visit the library, however, or you’d rather search the web, InsectIdentification.org is a great site for help identifying North American insects. You’ll find buttons on the navigation bar for all of the various types of insects as well as information regarding insect anatomy and mouthparts. My favorite feature, however, is the Bug Finder, a form in which you indicate the primary color, secondary color, and the state where the insect was found. After filling in all the fields and clicking on the “Search” button, you’re given a list of possible insects it might be. With just one try we found out what our ugly bug was: a dobsonfly.

So instead of swatting away those pesky bugs, have your children catch a few. The learning opportunities are endless.

Homeschooling Reading Curriculum by SmartTutor.com

Story Time – Stories for Kids

Guest Blogger: Samantha Bell

Picture By: jurvetson

The weather is hot, the insects are out, the kids are ready to swim — it must be summer! Whether or not you’re formally homeschooling through the summer, it’s still a great time for children to keep learning. If you have younger students, you can create a unit study of the season using books found at your library. Some of the books you might want to use include:

Summer (Four Seasons Series) by Nuria Roca – This picture book is one of a four-volume series featuring the seasons. During the summer, children can play ball, ride their bikes, or go swimming.

It’s Summer! by Linda Glaser – Also one of a four-part series, this book follows a child observing animals, birds, insects, and plants on a summer’s day. It also includes a list of activities for summer.  This book features fun illustrations created with cut paper.

Mama, Is It Summer Yet? – After a long winter, a mother and child watch for signs of spring turning into summer: squirrels building nests, trees blossoming, the earth softening, and birds singing. The illustrations for this book were also beautifully done with cut paper.

One Hot Summer Day by Nina Cruz – What do you do on a very hot summer day? It’s too hot to play on the playground, but not quite hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. Two grape popsicles and a rain shower finally bring some cooling relief.

Summer Stinks by Marty Kelly – Taking the reader through the alphabet, this rhyming picture book gives twenty-six reasons why summertime can be no fun. Ants eating snacks, the tide washing away sand castles, and ice cream melting are only a few of the woes faced by kids during the warmer months.

So whether it’s a hot day, a stormy day, or just a lazy day, find some good books about summer, and enjoy!

Homeschooling Reading Curriculum by SmartTutor.com

Story Time – Stories for Kids

Guest Blogger: Samantha Bell

Picture By: visual.dichotomy

Since my children were in the early elementary grades, I’ve had them write journal entries, either once a day or just a couple times a week. Sometimes they would write about events such as trips, celebrations, or visits from family. Other times I would give them a particular assignment, such as, “If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be, and why?”

In Kindergarten or first grade, my goal was to have them get used to writing. Once they had written an entry, even though it most likely had errors, they had finished the assignment. By second grade, though, I was correcting their work, and they had to re-copy it on a separate sheet of paper.

These simple journaling assignments have yielded big results. Not only do the children become better writers and more able to put their thoughts on paper, but their grammar and spelling drastically improves. What’s more, they have a fun record of some of the things they’ve done growing up.

Recently, I’ve heard some great ideas that add a twist to journaling:

• Incorporate lessons from other subjects into the journal assignments. For example, if you’re studying the American Revolution, have your student write a journal entry describing his day if he were an apprentice of Paul Revere. If you’re studying animals, have your student pretend she is on an African safari. What animals will she see? What do they look like? What are they doing?

• Turn the journal entries into a family newsletter. You can be the editor of the newsletter, or you can assign that job to the oldest child. Then, once a month, the editor can choose a journal entry from each child to include in the newsletter. You can even email the newsletter to save on postage.

• Write or publish the journal entries on the student’s own blog. If you have a student who loves computers, he’d probably enjoy choosing the theme, layout, and widgets. Share the address with family members so they can read the blog, too.

However you decide to do it, try to make journaling part of your school day. Not only are your students learning, but they’re creating a wonderful keepsake as well.

Homeschooling Reading Curriculum by SmartTutor.com

Story Time – Stories for Kids

Guest Blogger: Samantha Bell

Picture By: edenpictures