http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/hthst/ en cindy@me.com Copyright 2012 2012-08-24T14:24:04+00:00 http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/teaching_at_the_co-op/ http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/teaching_at_the_co-op/#When:14:24:04Z I will be teaching biology, beginning composition, and marketing at Cornerstone Tutorial Center this school year, so I thought it would be fun to blog about my adventures. For biology, I am using Exploring Creation with Biology, 2nd Edition, by Wile and Durnell. As we only teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays, this will be perfect for you who follow a similar schedule. (Remember, I said it was more fun to teach history two days and science two days!). My plan is to cover one module every two weeks, beginning September 4th. For beginning composition, I am pulling together a variety of resources to cover word choice, paragraph writing, essay writing, poetry, and creative writing. We will also do some vocabulary and grammar drills throughout the year. I also created my marketing class from scratch, using a variety of resources. I'm going to start the year having the kids explore various career choices. Then, we'll talk about how starting a micro business can help them choose a life career, earn spending money, and/or pay for college. I hope you'll join me in this adventure. If you have any ideas to share, I'd love to see them. We can also "talk" on my Facebook page.  Composition, Life Skills, Science 2012-08-24T14:24:04+00:00 http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/homeschool_helper/ http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/homeschool_helper/#When:18:55:00Z Homeschool Helper is an app for the iPad that is absolutely amazing! It's perfect for keeping track of your student's grades, attendance, book lists, field trips, tasks, and more.  Here's why I like it: You can set up unlimited number of students and everything is customizable. No preprogrammed anything. Simple input your child's name, add the courses he or she is taking, track attendance on a simple calendar device (one click), and record grades. The app does everything else including calculating the grades and creating reports. The grade calculator even scales grades and you can change the scale for each individual student! The reports can be viewed or emailed or printed. You can print a report card, attendance sheet, list of books read, tasks to be done and more.   The app also includes all the help you need in the form of a help file and videos. This is perfect for a family with one or multiple children and can be used over multiple years. At a price of $4.99, this is a bargain! No more expensive software; and, with the iPad, it's easy to take anywhere. You can work on it while waiting at the doctor's office!  I'm trying the app with my co-op class, but it's not as easy when working with this many students in the same course. I would need it to edit in a "course" mode, rather than student mode. Perhaps the next update? Pretty please!  You can purchase Homeschool Helper on iTunes. I've added this resource to The Checklist Assistant!  Apps 2012-07-26T18:55:00+00:00 http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/reading_fluency/ http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/reading_fluency/#When:01:55:27Z Here's a problem I see from time to time: a child knows all his or her letters and even the sounds of the letters, but still doesn't read. The answer to this, in a lot of cases, is to give them practice reading below-level books. By that, I mean reading books that contain words that are below the child's current reading level.  These are not always easy to find. The little readers that come with reading curriculums can get monotonous and kids lose interest. Here's how I've attacked the problem with one of my tutoring clients. I wrote a letter to her using words that she knew and a few that I wanted her to practice. I used colorful paper that had a panda on the border, and I signed it "Manda Panda." I even put it in an envelope and attached a pretend stamp on it. Now, everytime she comes for a lesson, she looks for the letter and can't wait to read it. She works extra hard to find out what Manda Panda says. Try it. It might work for your child! (Note: Don't give your student the letter until the very end!) For a change of pace, check out the library for easy readers rather than using the phonics readers that came with your curriculum. Take turns reading and gradually your child will pick up speed. When my son started getting into computers, I bought him subscriptions to computer magazines. I never had any trouble getting him to read them! It doesn't matter WHAT they read, just that they practice!  Reading 2012-06-28T01:55:27+00:00 http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/presidents_and_elections_unit_study/ http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/presidents_and_elections_unit_study/#When:01:44:45Z Presidents and Elections - A FREE unit study created by Cindy Downes that is designed to give primary-age children a brief introduction to the office of the President and the election process using library books, worksheets, art projects and Internet research. Each week, read the recommended book together, complete suggested activities, and obtain additional information by doing the suggested internet research. This unit is designed to be completed in twelve weeks, completing two, 1 - 2 hour lessons per week; however, you can customize it to any length, depending upon how much material you cover and how long you take to cover it. Recently updated with new links and worksheets!  Teaching Tips 2012-05-31T01:44:45+00:00 http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/review_see_how_they_run/ http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/review_see_how_they_run/#When:13:19:27Z See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and the Race to the White House by Susan E. Goodman is a 96-page picture book about presidential elections and the election process. Goodman covers the history of democracy, the electoral college, legal requirements for president, campaigning, political parties, campaign financing, and how ballots are counted. Written in 2008, the book includes presidents from George Washington to George Bush. What I love about the book is that it's fun to read. It presents facts in an entertaining way by including funny sidebars and humorous illustrations. Goodman includes both the bad and good of the American political process and encourages kids to do what they can to get people to vote. If I had to guess, I think the author and/or publisher is Democrat; however, that's only a guess. The book was fairly neutral. I recommend the book for grades 4 and up. Even older readers will enjoy reading the book and learn a lot from it. This is a good choice to read while doing a study on presidents, elections, civics, and democracy.   Book Review 2011-12-10T13:19:27+00:00 http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/teaching_composition_can_be_fun/ http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/teaching_composition_can_be_fun/#When:15:47:47Z Most language arts curriculum teach grammar and mechanics, but spend very little time teaching actual composition skills. Here’s a resource that will make teaching composition fun for the kids. Don’t Forget to Write for the Elementary Grades includes 50 lessons for ages 5 to 12, as well as a self-assessment checklist, evaluation rubrics, and common core curriculum standards. Here’s what makes this book effective: Each lesson includes activities to get the kids interested in writing such as a watching a video, building something, brainstorming, or role-playing. This sets the stage for the writing assignment. Next, students are invited to discuss the prewriting activity. This prepares them for the actual assignment. Finally, the students are given the assignment along with step-by-step instructions, appropriate worksheets on which to organize their writing, and ideas to get started. The ideas for writing aren’t your usual everyday ideas, either. Students will write about eating tuna and Jell-O sundaes, mosquito ranching, codes and ciphers, how to be the next president of the United States, monsters in their lunch bag, the secret life of groceries, how to open a bag of chips without making any noise, how to wrestle an alligator, and dozens of other zany topics. How fun is that! In order to teach kids to write well, they have to write often. Although Don't Forget to Write is written for classroom use, there's plenty here that can be used in a homeschool setting to make "writing often" FUN!   Note: There is a second book, Don't Forget to Write for Secondary Grades, that is perfect for your 7-12th graders. Book Review, Composition, Teaching Tips 2011-12-03T15:47:47+00:00 http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/world_war_ii_interactive/ http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/world_war_ii_interactive/#When:12:18:07Z World War II Interactive for iPad provides a glimpse into World War II, its causes, events, and aftermath. The app includes more than 600 photos, 35 rare video clips, and audios of famous speeches made by Allied leaders. You can browse by timeline event, media, people, and weapons. This interactive app is perfect for students, teachers, veterans, or history buffs. I particularly like the app because it uses all the senses: auditory, visual and even kinesthetic (the interactivity of the app itself). Perfect for lesson plans and unit studies.  Apps, History 2011-11-23T12:18:07+00:00 http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/biology_101_review_by_cindy_downes/ http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/biology_101_review_by_cindy_downes/#When:14:39:01Z Your visual and auditory learners are going to LOVE this. As a matter of fact, Biology 101: Biology According to the Days of Creation, developed by Wes Olson, is going to be enjoyed by the whole family! The topics covered in this 4 disc set include Defining Life and Life Classification, Plants, Aquatic Creatures, Avian Creatures, Land Animals, Mankind and Genetics. It also includes a printable 114-page guidebook and a 12-page "Course Accreditation Program." First, what I liked: I loved the beautiful videos; the animated graphs, charts and illustrations; the background music was pleasant and added to the learning experience. The host (also Wes Olson) was an excellent speaker and kept my attention with clearly defined definitions, anecdotes, and interesting facts. During the plant segment, he takes the viewer to a variety of places to study plants: the bakery to learn about grains, a restaurant to learn how algae is used to make ice cream and salad dressing, and the forest to watch a forester drill a tree ring sample to find out the age of a tree. He also offers memory tips like learning that stamen ends with "men" so it's the male part of the plant, and he shows how plants are used in scripture to illustrate spiritual truths. The animations are excellent and easy to learn from so everyone in the family will benefit from watching the videos. What I didn't like: There is no real lab work included to speak of, only a few simple projects. The "accreditation program" is not adequate for students going to college or entering any science-related field. I recommend supplementing the curriculum with additional research, composition, and lab work. The guidebook did not include much more than what is included on the videos, so it's not really that helpful. Perhaps this is a feature they will improve in the future. However, I liked the videos themselves so much, I highly recommend them as the foundation for a biology course or a unit study for all ages. You could teach topic by topic as in a unit study and use the videos as the "meat." Simply add additional reading, research, composition, and lab to suit, depending on grade level, interests and abilities. Much of the extras could be found on the Internet for free. The cost of Biology 101 is currently only $69.95/set ($49.49 on CBD), a full year's course that can be used by your entire family. You can't beat that! For more information or to purchase - Biology 101.   High School, Curriculum, Reviews, Science 2011-09-27T14:39:01+00:00 http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/teaching_a_foriegn_language/ http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/teaching_a_foriegn_language/#When:16:54:05Z Foreign language is a notoriously challenging subject for many Americans due to our relative isolation from the rest of the world. Even those who take a foreign language in high school or college rarely end up using it. In fact, only 26% of American’s speak a second language well enough to hold a conversation while more than 50% of Europeans are fluent in at least one additional language. So if you are one of the 74% of Americans that continue to struggle with a foreign language here are a few ideas that might make the process a little more enjoyable. Experts agree that “immersion” substantially increase a student’s ability to retain foreign languages. Although trips to Mexico or Europe may be out of the question, there are other ways to create immersion opportunities for the whole family. Immersion is not just about traveling to other countries. It is about changing your lifestyle to include constant exposure to the foreign language you are learning. Every week many of us listen to music, watch a movie or TV, order food, and talk with friends and family. By finding alternatives to our everyday activities, we can immerse ourselves in foreign languages without changing our overall routine. In my own home, I have instituted French Fridays to provide some immersive experiences for the kids. We begin our French Friday during our lunch break. I prepare a special menu for the kids and allow them to “order” their meal in French. We then move to the Living room to spend some time working on activities that will promote fluency. We have a collection of French Christian rock music that we can sing along with. Our current favorite is a band called The Kry. You can purchase their CD, Peut-Etre, from iTunes. We also play “vocabulary bingo” while watching our favorite movie in French (most DVD’s include foreign language audio tracks as an option). Though the kids are not fluent enough to follow the movie word for word, having them call out words they understand while the movie is playing gives them the opportunity to make associations in context and increase their interpretive speed. After some music or a movie we may pull out a storybook to read together and discuss how many words we can find that have similar roots in English (i.e. “ciel” and “celestial”, “lumiere” and “illuminate”, etc.). Remembering to include immersion opportunities on a regular basis will provide both the practice and the diversity of interest that helps keep lessons interesting. Not only will your students perform better, each lesson will become more enjoyable for everyone involved.   Apps, Life Skills, Music, Curriculum, Teaching Tips 2011-09-21T16:54:05+00:00 http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/medieval_life/ http://www.howtohomeschooltoday.com/blog/medieval_life/#When:18:50:18Z Medieval Life features sound effects and interactive pen and ink drawings, paintings, and photographs that tell the story of life in the middle ages. It includes information on castle life, cathedrals, farms, towns, work, play, food, clothing, religion, homes, children, women, knights, tools, weapons, monastery, Vikings and Viking ships. Pros: The sound effects, such as dogs barking, a blacksmith clanking tools, geese honking, and monks chanting, help pull you back into the middle ages. I like that. I also found it fun trying to find all the interactive hot spots; kind of like playing “Where’s Waldo.”     Cons: There is no animation or video including in the app. Although the pictures are interesting and there is a bit of interactivity, this app lacks the features that would really keep a child’s attention. It’s basically a “pop-up” book on the iPad. I think a pop-up book would be more entertaining; however, a pop-up book that includes as many pop-ups and as much information would cost a fortune to produce. This app is currently at $5.99, which although a bit high for an app, is better than the cost of a comparative book. Education Value: 5 stars Entertainment Value: 2 stars Overall: A convenient and comparatively inexpensive tool to enrich a unit study on medieval life – for that I would give it 4 stars More information on other products by Knowledge Quest.   Apps, History 2011-09-12T18:50:18+00:00