Forgetful Momma

Secular Homeschooling in Canada

Natural Homeschooling

National Thesaurus Day – January 18

by

Did you know that this day existed? I did not. But I thought it might make a fun school theme day, this year with the 18th landing on a Saturday, I’ll be introducing our thesaurus cards on the Friday. I have been thinking about this and have a few ideas and ways that you can include a Thesaurus Day in your homeschool.

National Thesaurus Day

National Thesaurus Day – January 18

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

I think that the very first thing you need to do, and I need to do, is to get a Thesaurus for your homeschool if you haven’t already got one. I do not have one at the time of writing this but I have ordered the one linked above as I like the idea of also getting the vocabulary builder. You can also get student ones that might be better for younger students such as the one below.

Let’s Have Some Thesaurus Fun

You can have your kids make a list describing pets, family members, or friends. Have them find new words or their feelings and emotions as well.

Encourage your kids to look up words that use everyday. I should have my kids look the word “even”. I have come to hate that word. Actually too, because it sounds very close to Ashley.

Have your kids write a paragraph describing themselves. Practice expanding their vocabulary by using at least three new words.

Lessons from Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers Pay Teachers has a few resources for this day, including one I have included myself. Just in time for National Thesaurus Day, I made these word charts for my own kids, and to share with you homeschoolers. 40+ words, their definition, synonym and antonyms.

I have mine printed on colorful AstroBright paper. I love using colorful paper instead of water, it just looks move fun, engaging, and something I would actually want to look at and use. I also have them on a binder ring as to make them easy to flip through and we’re less likely to lose one.

Thesaurus Word Charts - Synonym and Antonyms Words

This resource includes 40 commonly used words: angry, big, boring, clean, cold, crying, cute, easy, excited, fast, funny, good, happy, hard, hot, hungry, important, kid, laugh, like, look, make, more, naughty, nice, pretty, quiet, run, sad, said scared, slow, small, smart, smelly, tired, walk, went, worried, write, and a lot

These word charts also come in half page sizes for bulletin boards if you have one set up and like to use.

National Creativity Month – January

by

This is a monthly theme that I am on board with. January is National Creativity Month, how fun is that? Everything this month should be creative.

National Creativity Month - January

National Creativity Month – January

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

My kids each got a few craft kits because everyone knows that they are crafty, creative little people. Their bedroom floor are littered with paper right now as proof of their creative spirit.

Ways to Be More Creative

Kits & Subscriptions

Art isn’t always seen as a necessity in homeschool, especially when some of us are just trying to make it through each day. But for some it needs to be. For my kids and I, we need to be creative, it is part of who we are.

Art kits from Amazon are great. They are perfect for parents who aren’t crafty but want to provide their children with projects to work on. With everything needed included, including the instructions they’re perfect.

You could also check out Green Kid Crafts subscription box. Everything in one box, delivered to your door each month. The perfect way to be crafty each month.

Books

Head to your local library and check out their selection of books in the crafting section. My 10 and eight year olds love to get these books and then find something to re-create.

Make sure to check out my Amazon store front to find some fun craft books, including a book with a years worth of crafts.

Paper, Pencils, Glue

Just having craft supplies in your home can make all the difference. Your kids can use their imagination to create their own works of art. You don’t have to let them have free range to art materials at all times, but instead give them scheduled time whether it is once a week or more often.

Lego

Want to encourage your kids to be creativity everyday? Get them a set of Lego. You don’t have to buy the fancy kits, the classic creative box of Lego is the best for getting your kids to use their creative imagination. Our local library has a large selection of Lego books that my kids all borrow all the time so that they can create new designs, or draw from those ideas to create their own.

I would spend every penny I have spent on Lego over the year, all over again. It is the best toy any of my kids have gotten, and I love when they choice to spend their birthday or Christmas money on more of it.

Homeschool Math in the Kitchen

by

Kids love to be in the kitchen. They love being with you, being hands on and learning. Cooking and baking in the kitchen is the perfect place to incorporate homeschool math. Whenever we struggle to learn something or need to work on a skill a little more, we go to the kitchen, or the grocery store, both places are full of numbers.

Homeschool Math in the Kitchen

Homeschool Math in the Kitchen

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

Basic Counting

Being in the kitchen with younger kids can be overwhelming. They are reaching for things, they want to help but have no idea what to do. It’s fun! And after years of practicing with you, they make muffins and cupcakes on their own.

But it all starts with counting in the kitchen. They count as someone adds in ingredients whether you are adding them or they are, or another sibling is.

Fractions Made Simple

What are you using when your baking? Measuring spoons and measuring cups. All of which are pieces of whole, a whole cup or a 1/3 of a cup. Fractions were never my strong suit, I still hate when they come up in my kids lessons. But I’ll bake any day and fractions are less scary when there is food involved.

Homeschool Math in the Kitchen

Reduce or Double Batch

When your kids are confident in the kitchen change things up and really challenge them. Get them to make a double batch of a favorite muffin recipe. This is great practice for addition, fractions, and multiplication.

Or maybe you don’t need a full batch of cookies for whatever reason and you want your kids to instead make half a batch of cookies.

Weight VS Volume

There are some recipes that use weight instead of volume. Or give both. This is a great time to measure and weigh ingredients. How much does one cup of flour weigh?

You can buy a kitchen scale almost anywhere and it’s perfect for leaving baking and exploring weight in general.

Grocery Budget

Getting in the kitchen and learning to cook and bake, and being confident there is a life skill in it’s self, but let’s go a step farther and add another life skill, grocery budgeting.

Let your kids plan a meal within a certain budget, this takes homeschool math beyond the kitchen and into the grocery store. Expand the activity and have them do a cost analysis on two different meals. Which one is cheaper when considering serving size?

5 Tips for Teaching Kids to be Confident in the Kitchen

by

In teaching my kids to cook and bake there are a few things that I have realized are important to teach our kids in order for them to be confident in the kitchen. A few things I hadn’t thought about before, and only realized once letting them loose in the kitchen.

5 Tips for Teaching Kids to be Confident in the Kitchen

5 Tips for Teaching Kids to be Confident in the Kitchen

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

Read through the whole recipe.

This is one I am still guilty of not doing but it definitely makes all the difference in the world when cooking or baking. There is often very important information left out of the beginning of a recipe, and is at the end, information that could change the whole recipe.

Timing is everything.

There are three different times listed on most recipes: prep-time, cook-time, and total-time. Supper is in one hour, but that doesn’t mean you can cook something that takes one hour to cook, you need to take in account how long it takes you to put everything together.

Also teaching them about timing to get everything to finish at about the same time to have the potatoes finished at the same time as the meatloaf.

Know your kitchen.

Make sure you know where everything is in the kitchen you are cooking in. It will make it easier for your child to cook something without problems if they know where to find a measuring spoon every time. It also makes it easier for them to clean up later.

They need the height.

There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to reach things, and your kids aren’t going to be able to cook or bake if they can’t reach the counter or stove top. Buy a sturdy stool (we have this one) that they can move around easily to reach where they need to.

For younger children you may want to get this one, something to help prevent them from falling when helping you in the kitchen.

Cooking experience.

Some recipes expect you to have a certain level of experience when cooking or baking. Make sure to take that into account when your child is trying out a new recipe.

Some cookbooks might specifically say softened butter or all ingredients at room temperature, not all of them will. Which is one of the reasons it’s so important to read through the whole recipe.

Summer Learning, Keep It Going

by

Summer slide is a real thing, but here’s the thing, I think it is more for public school kids that homeschooled kids. For me, as a homeschooler I am constantly telling my kids to go read, or finding awesome new documentaries that I know they are going to enjoy.

Summer Learning, Keep It Going

Summer Learning, Keep It Going

*This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

I tend to point my kids towards more educational past times. The best part is the summer learning can be fun, get to the things that skipped over through the school year.

Reading Challenges

We join the library reading club each year, we’re already reading, so why not join in for some more fun. This year when I printed off some sheets to keep track of the books they are, they challenged me to keep track of the books that I am reading. Challenge accepted children.

Nature Study

I just requested a bird book from the library so we can learn a little more about the birds building nests and having babies in our trees. We have had mourning doves, and now are onto our second nest of robins. It has been a very cute learning experience for all of us.

We have a family of foxes, ducks, and muskrats as well. All the babies are all around us this spring and we are learning a lot from them and about them.

Do some of the following and keep a dairy of sorts on what they see, writing or drawing what they see:

  • Watching clouds
  • Gardening
  • Hiking
  • Bird watching
  • Looking for insects

Entrepreneur Skills

I shared in our summer bucket list that I want to spend some quality one-on-one time with each of my kids this summer and work on things with them. My oldest wants to make and sell dogs treats, and while not running my oven is my plan, we’ll be making an exception for this.

Plus I am working on few of my own ideas this summer which means we are all learning about those too.

Summer Learning ideas

Screen Time

Instead of free screen time, give them some structure with educational apps and games such as Reading Eggs or Moose Math. After a predetermined amount of time they can then switch to something else.

Science Experiments

Did you skip over science experiments this school year in hopes of just getting through the year? I know we did, but I had a plan all along. My plan was to use the summer to get them all done, and having fun while doing so. Keep the learning going so to speak.

Resources you may be interested in:

Similar posts that you may be interested in:

Taking Homeschool Outside this Spring and Summer

Summer Reading Challenge

Pool Safety in the Heat of Summer