1. Work Sheet Works
This nifty little website lets you make your own handwriting sheets (if you click on the one that says "Handwriting Practice"). You get to customize how many lines appear, what the worksheet will say, how big the text is, the works. The best part? It's FREE. Easiest part of my lesson planning week is to plug in what I want the kids to work on writing this week. There's all kinds of other good stuff, but I go there for the customized work sheets.
2. The Dollar Tree
For manipulatives for my 15 month old, this place is hard to beat. They have basic craft supplies and right now they're starting to gear up for the school year, which means flash cards, handwriting pads, work books and school room accessories that stay in my budget. While I still don't buy sketchy tooth whitening or grooming supplies, this is my go-to to keep my busy baby busy.
3.
This I borrowed from a friend and dusted off this week to help with my weak math lessons.
The content is varied enough that it keeps it interesting for my six year old student, but scripted enough that I can teach a math lesson even with every things else going on in the background. It's heavily focused on manipulatives and playing with numbers, so it's a fun introduction and won't induced later groans and "Math? Do I have to?"'s from reluctant math students.
4.
One of the joys of having very young students is being able to match them with things that they love and things that they are good at. To see that lightbulb moment when they know they are learning and they feel happy and strong because they are learning. This poetry compilation was put together by Laura Berquist, foundress of Mother of Divine Grace homeschool program (and my boss). She walked the homeschool walk with her kids and this book is a collection of poems that she taught her kids over the years and has something for each grade level. For example, did you know Robert Lewis Stevenson wrote poetry for small children? He did, and they're part of this collection. My littles are learning his sweet little poems and being able to recite poetry is one of the best parts of their day.
5. Dessert: Door County Renaissance Faire
At the end of the school week, our reward is going to be going to the Door County Renaissance Faire for a "field trip". It's important to remember that part of learning is having fun and experiencing new things. Plus, we've been working on costumes all week. The kids have a say in the creative direction of their costumes and they love watching the outfits come together. We talk about things like planning for the weather, what kind of colors they are hoping for, etc. It's a bonding experience for me and for them, plus they get to exercise their creativity in a new way. The six year old actually drew pictures of a coat he was hoping for (and that boy has swagger! It was a very stylish coat.). Plus, the theme this year is pirates. Yargh!
I did not receive a promotional consideration for any of these products. I did not get paid in freebies or otherwise for these product reviews. The content here is solely the result of wanting to share with other homeschooling parents things that I have found helpful. But if you click on my Amazon links I might get a couple pennies if you buy stuff.
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