AIMS

When I taught in Georgia I was introduced to AIMS. (Activities Integrating Math and Science). AIMS is non-profit organization dedicated to helping you give students a solid conceptual understanding of math and science, built on research in best practices and brain-based learning.

I have always loved their hands on activities. They sell books that range in price from $20-$40 with activities by theme for grades Kindergarten through 9th grade. Some examples of themes are: Plants, Physics, Problem Solving, Probability, etc. They also have fabulous $2.00 activities you can download. If you live near a university with a Teacher Education Library, they sometimes have the books available to borrow. Inter-library loans would be another way to try them out. There are also free samples of activities on the web site.

My kids love the activities. The supplies are usually things you have around the house, or very basic science equipment. They also sell a small group/homeschool science kit. The activities include making predictions, making a graphs, and charting results. The charts and all forms are all made for you. The instructions are easy to follow.

This is a great way to add experiments to your science program, or problem solving to your math curriculum.
Enjoy!
~Becky~

Fiber Arts

This year we have been working on a fiber arts curriculum.   We choose to use Woolworks Curriculum by Harrisville Designs.  I met the author Lorna McMaster at the Midwest Homeschool Convention in 2011.  We have greatly enjoyed all the projects and teaching aids.  We have discussed types of wool, weaving, knitting, and the history of wool.  There are many parts and we will finish it up this summer.  Below are some pictures of my children’s work.  They have had an amazing time learning this year about Fiber Arts.  

Pot Holders are favorites.  We used the Harrisville Design loom.

We have a peg loom and lap loom.  We also use a backstrap loom. 

I found these Knifty Knitters and they were quite a hit.  I will never have to buy hats again.

There were knitting instructions in the curriculum.  I also talked to our local librarian who knits.  She set up a class to teach my children.  They will be knitting with her all summer.  We have also dabbled in crotchet.

We have had a great time with this.  I would definitely recommend the curriculum.  The author tells you how to make many of the looms, spinners, etc.  We  also went to an Alpaca festival to observe them spin their wool, touch the wool, and enjoy seeing the animals.  

Spinning

checking out the fiber

Fun times watching the Alpacas.

Maybe this will inspire you to try it out next year.  

~Becky~

How do I notify to homeschool?

There are so many good resources out there to help you fill out your letter of intent to start homeschooling.  I thought it might be helpful to link them here as a help.


PEACH Homeschool Network out of Dayton/Xenia has an excellent packet as well.  On pages 9-11 they give samples of how to write a curriculum outline for the year and a resource list.  I was very impressed.

My friend Lisa McAfee at Schoolmarm Ohio wrote about how to fill out the notification form.  She also has a post that explains items 6 and 7 more clearly on the notification form.

Another  resource is the HSLDA of Ohio.  They have forms and articles at their website. 

Hopefully this will get you started.  I save my form to my computer and just update it each year by adding curriculum and kids.

~Becky~
** Please note this post does not constitute legal advice.  It is only contains some suggestions.   **

Fathers Day Printables

I saw this posted on the Persnickety Prints blog. 

  It is a printable for Father's Day.  I thought they were fabulous and printed 7 of them for all my kids.  I realize they are probably meant for younger kids, but I went ahead and let everyone fill one out. The answers made me smile, and we all had a lot of fun.  Here is the direct link to the PDF.

I am going to have the kids draw pictures for their dad and include these in a small book for him for Father's Day.  I think they will make him smile. 

~ Becky