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Simple Homeschool

Some simple snapshots of days at home here–where learning and life often intertwine seamlessly.

I’ve been keeping it simple much more this year- between planning, lessons, activities, meals, and resources and I am grateful to have scaled down.

I love when we can incorporate hands-on fun and real life.

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Making homemade play dough

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Making homemade pretzels

 

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Our chickens, ducks, and guineas- all hanging out together. They are incredibly entertaining to watch and learn from!

 

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Awesome sunsets.

 

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We found this teeny tiny baby snapping turtle in the grass!

 

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Homemade butter. Ten minutes of shaking the jar paid off!

 

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Yummy.

How are YOU keeping it simple?

 

Check out where I am speaking in 2017—-> SPEAKING

Listen to the new Podcast episodes—-> PODCAST

Shop Simply Living for Him——>SHOP

I also wanted to share that EARLY Bird tickets are available for our ladies weekend in the summer of 2017!

Grab a ticket now before prices go up!

 

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10 days of simple homeschool, scavenger hunts, simple homeschool

10 Days Of Simple Homeschool-Scavenger Hunts!


Welcome to 10 Days of Simple Homeschool. For the next two weeks, I will be posting about all things simple in homeschooling. 10 Days of Simple Homeschool is about going back to the basics.  Too often we tend to complicate our purpose by trying to do too much.  Homeschooling can be very effective when we go back to the basics and let our everyday life be our classroom and learn by doing.  
 Simplifying Homeschool is dear to my heart-getting rid of all of the distractions that keep us from our purpose and from putting God first in all! 
Some posts will be practical ideas, some will focus on our hearts, but all will be focused on keeping it simple.
Subscribe here so you don’t miss a thing. Be sure to follow on facebook and twitter too!


It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiousity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom. – Albert Einstein

One of our favorite simple activities in home learning is a scavenger hunt.  These can be adapted in so many ways for so many different subjects.  These are some ways that we use scavenger hunts:
Seasonal scavenger hunts: I have adapted this for “Signs of Spring” or “Signs of Winter.”  The kids go out with their sketch books and look for various ways that show if spring or winter is approaching.  

Indoor Scavenger hunts: For little ones just learning letters, I will ask them to go around the house and find as many things beginning with the letter “A’ or “B’ etc.  Or for pre-readers, I will give them a list of simple words, that they must read and find.  
Language Scavenger hunts: Practice those words learned in a foreign language by writing them out in a list with the language you are learning.  The child must find all that are on the list.
Math Scavenger Hunt: This can be adapted to however you need for any level.  For little ones they may simply have to find the correct quantity of something, for instance: Find three of something, or find pairs, etc.  For older children use it to practice measurement. Give them a list of things around the house or outside to measure.  


Nature Scavenger Hunt: This can be used any way to practice finding types of flowers, animals, tress, etc.
Digital Scavenger Hunt App Urge Kids To Explore Outside
source
Language Arts Scavenger Hunt: have the children identify things by adjective or noun:  Find something that is shiny, or large, or curvy, etc.  Or use nouns to identify objects.
These are just small ways to get you started in tailoring a scavenger hunt to your family’s needs and to what your children are learning. They can be adapted any which way you choose. Get creative.  Use these scavenger hunts every week or two, just to change things up, and make it fun.


Here are the past links in this series!


Day: 1: Cooking with Kids

Day 2: Why I Have Simplified Homeschool
Day 3 Using Your Library


The 10 Days Series is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutually beneficial projects. Visit us on FacebookPinterest, and Twitter. And of course, click the image below to visit all the 10 Days posts from these homeschool moms of the iHomeschool Network. You’ll be blessed with tips on how to handle bad days, cultivating curiosity, teaching with Legos, and much much more!

Also, Simply Homeschool is #1 this week at Amazon.com for Homeschooling books.  I am humbled that so many people are be being blessed by it.
Simply Homeschool is now just $0.99 for download or for Kindle at Amazon.com Click here for more info

© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

SimplyLivingforHim

10 days of series, 10 days of simple homeschool, ihomeschool network, simple homeschool, Simply...Living For Him

10 Days of Simple Homeschool-Cooking with Kids


Welcome to 10 Days of Simple Homeschool. For the next two weeks, I will be posting about all things simple in homeschooling. 10 Days of Simple Homeschool is about going back to the basics.  Too often we tend to complicate our purpose by trying to do too much.  Homeschooling can be very effective when we go back to the basics and let our everyday life be our classroom and learn by doing.  

 Simplifying Homeschool is dear to my heart-getting rid of all of the distractions that keep us from our purpose and from putting God first in all! 
Some posts will be practical ideas, some will focus on our hearts, but all will be focused on keeping it simple.
Subscribe here so you don’t miss a thing. Be sure to follow on facebook and twitter too!
Today we are talking about using cooking to teach. It is a life skill that teaches so much more than cooking.

Remember when you had a toddler and couldn’t wait to get them a little play kitchen? I remember when my first born was two years old and we bought her a darling little wooden kitchen.  Oh how I loved it.  I pictured her spending her days pretending to cook like mommy.

Not long after though, she started clinging to my apron wanting to be in my kitchen.
“Oh no honey…go play in your kitchen.”
Looking back I realize how much money would have been saved had I just let her in my kitchen  in the first place.  

Eventually I got her her own child size apron and even a set of cooking utensils that were hers.  When I was in the kitchen cooking there were many tasks she could help with.  First was stirring. Virtually any toddler can do that.  And they love feeling useful.

Next would be helping me scrub veggies, or pour ingredients.  Eventually it would lead to measuring and chopping. Always being part of the process was so important.  Even if the job wasn’t done right, she was learning about cooking, science, math, and bonding with mom. Sometimes I let her make a mistake without interfering, so she could see how important it is in cooking to make the recipe exact-it is science in action.  

Now that my little girl is eleven she is capable of doing it all. She can read the recipe and make it by herself. This now leads to planning a meal or even grovery shopping for a week’s worth of meals. Currently she makes lunch for us twice per week!

My sons also love to help in the kitchen. They never did use that play kitchen.

Cooking is a real life school learned best in real life-the kitchen.  It incorporates direction following, science, math, and planning.  
So get your kids in the kitchen. It is truly a classroom in itself and a simple way to learn.

The 10 Days Series is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutually beneficial projects. Visit us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. And of course, click the image below to visit all the 10 Days posts from these homeschool moms of the iHomeschool Network. You’ll be blessed with tips on how to handle bad days, cultivating curiosity, teaching with Legos, and much much more!


Also, Simply Homeschool was #1 this week at Amazon.com for Homeschooling books.  I am humbled that so many people are be being blessed by it.
Simply Homeschool is now just $0.99 for download or for Kindle at Amazon.com Click here for more info

© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

SimplyLivingforHim

10 days series, simple homeschool, Simply...Homeschool

10 Days of Simple Homeschool

10-days-april-karen

Join me next week for 10 Days of Simple Homeschool. I will be participating in this series along with 28 other homeschool bloggers, all with different topics.  Anything from 10 Days of Lego Learning, to 10 Days of Frugal Homeschooling-there’s lots of great topics!

Be sure to check back, it is going to be so much fun and there will be lots of great information to glean from so many wise ladies.

Also, TODAY begins the Heart of the Matter Online Conference! You don’t have to attend live either-your registration includes all of the mp3’s to listen at your leisure after the conference!  See you there!

HOTM Button
And…I will be speaking at Heart of the Matter’s Online Conference April 12-14.  I am presenting, “Taking the “School” Out of Homeschool: Homeschooling as a Lifestyle:”  

Register now. It is only $9.95 for the entire conference and access to all mp3’s after the conference is over!
Click here to view more details and to register!


Also, Simply Homeschool was #1 this week at Amazon.com for Homeschooling books.  I am humbled that so many people are be being blessed by it.

Simply Homeschool is now just $0.99 for download or for Kindle at Amazon.com Click here for more info

© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

SimplyLivingforHim