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10 Days of Simple Homeschool-Simple and Fun Ways to Use Narration

10-days-april-karen


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!

Ethan (3) describing his picture that he drew after listening to The Adventures of Grandfather Frog

We love using living books in our homeschool. Rather than a dry textbook full of facts, we simply read great historical fiction to learn about history.  We also use some literature to learn about science. We make the subjects come alive through reading. For history a read aloud may be a Little House on The Prairie book or the Courage of Sarah Noble. For science we have been loving the Thornton Burgess Animal Stories. We have read The Burgess Bird Book for Children,The Adventures of Grandfather Frog, and The Adventures of Peter Cottontail. 


I usually read the books aloud while all of the kids listen.  Afterwards I use narration to help solidify what they have read. For instance, I will ask them to tell me back what I just read, or write a paragraph.


In using various activities I have implemented, they are still narrating but with a twist.


Here are simple way, fun ways to use narration:
  • Draw a picture of a scene in the story that you just heard
  • Act out a scene from the story
  • Write a newspaper article about the story line
  • Video yourself telling back the story (some kids will love this simply because they get to see themselves on video)
  • For the boys, especially-Use the Legos to recreate a scene from the story. This was especially fun for my boys in narrating history when we studied the Revolutionary War. They still remember details of battles because they used Legos to recreate them

Have fun with narration. It is simply practicing what they have learned. It doesn’t have to be complicated at all. Simple, easy, and fun, while learning-what can be better?


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!

On another note, Simply Homeschool continues to be #1 on the Amazon. com best sellers for homeschool books for Kindle and #1 in ALL homeschool books! Unbelievable. For a book that I wrote for my readers, and was put on Kindle in case anyone wanted to read it on their Kindle, it blows my mind to be a top seller. No marketing, nothing fancy- just a book from my heart to encourage others. God is amazing! I am thrilled so many are being blessed by it. To Him be all the Glory!
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

April 26, 2012 by
10 days of series, 10 days of simple homeschool, Simply...Homeschool, Simply...Living For Him

10 Days of Simple Homeschool-Starting Your Day with the Lord

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!

Each and everyday we don’t open a “school” book until we have opened the most important book-The Bible. I truly believe we must put God first in all, if we are to succeed on this journey. He wants to lead us everyday.

I made this decision a few years back–we will never skip Bible time, even if we are having a busy morning, or if we are behind in other lessons.  How can I ever put a language book or a math book above His book? How can I teach them to put Him first, if we are letting other things take precedence?

Bible time is non-negotiable. We start every morning in His Word together. The we pray together, and many days we worship together. It is our sweetest time of the day. It sets the tone for the day.

And it doesn’t stop there. As the years passed, I began to include Bible reading after lunch. Again, we don’t open up any school books after lunch until we have read the Bible together. We pray together again. It is a time to refocus. No matter what has happened in the morning-if there were tears over math, arguments between siblings, or poor attitudes-at this time of the day it is an opportunity to bring it all to Him. We can refocus our day and recharge if necessary. His mercies are new.


Simplifying homeschool is about getting rid of many of the unnecessary extras in our day and in our homeschools. Truly, if your child loves the Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind first, then all of the other lessons will fall into place. They will measure everything they do against the Lord’s standard.

When we seek first His righteousness, He will supply our needs. He already knows what He wants for us. We just need to submit to His plan and not our own.


What an awesome, mighty God we serve. How blessed we are to incorporate His teaching and His love into every aspect of our day.

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
Day 4 Scavenger Hunts!


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 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

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© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

SimplyLivingforHim

April 20, 2012 by
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

April 16, 2012 by