Shabby Blog Wheels on the Bus

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Mini Offices

When I was in first grade, I went from a private school with individual desks to a public school with four to five kids to a semi-circular table. Always an independent worker, I had a difficult time concentrating. I began getting creative to find a way to block out noise and distraction so that I could do my school work.

I soon developed a "folder office," meaning I took two pocketed folders (probably ones with photos of cute kittens on them) and opened them each to 90° angles, making a corral for me to work within. 

I remember my teacher, Mrs. Hunnicutt, protesting at first, but soon she began to realize there was no harm in my invention. A few of my classmates soon followed suit, and the classroom actually grew quieter as we shrunk into our own private workspaces during independent work.


Think of the same thing but on a little bit larger scale, and you have "mini offices" outfitted for the homeschool setting. You can use file folders (think an extension of lapbooks) -- or something a little larger, like science presentation boards. We used the latter, but cut ours in half width-wise so that they would fit on top of the dining room table. Both kids have two; one is for language arts, Bible and geography, and one is for math and "miscellaneous."


I found many of the printables via this helpful article about mini offices. A quick search on Pinterest yielded more. I framed many with cardstock and then laminated them. The great thing about science presentation boards is that you can tape the objects to the board and then move them around without ripping the cardboard; it's made for moving things around. We can change the boards as the academic needs change through the school year.




(This board has: The US presidents, a US map, days of the week, months of the year, books of the Bible, and parts of speech.)


(Miss Artsy's has the same, as well as a punctuation chart and an alphabet chart.)


(Mr. Tinker's math and miscellaneous board has a "today is" write on/wipe off sign, "What I'm Memorizing" sleeve that we can switch out depending on the poem he's working on currently, math equivalent charts, and fraction strips.)


(Miss Artsy's math board has a number line, 100 chart, 3D geometric solids chart, shapes chart, money chart, tally marks chart, and (not pictured, on both hers and her brother's), a "What I'm Creating" sleeve, which lets them rotate out their current pieces of favorite artwork for display.)

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Our curriculum for 2012-2013

We're holding on to a couple of curriculums from last year that we really enjoyed, for but for the most part, we're trying some new titles/curriculum this year. Reasons? Somewhat based on requests by the kids for change (math), but also just because I was looking for something fresh and new to teach (language arts).

Here's this year's lineup:


Mr. Tinker:

Language Arts:
First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind, Level 2 (grammar)
Writing With Ease, Level 1 (writing/composition)
Spellwell A (spelling)

Math:
BJU Math 2

Science:
Building a Foundation of Scientific Understanding

Bible, History & Geography:
My Father's World - Adventures in My Father's World

Art:
Lamb's Book of Art I

(Also: He will supplement with living books in the subjects of history and science to meet reading requirements. He will also take typing lessons this year (by request).)


Miss Artsy:

Language Arts:
First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind, Level 1 (grammar)
Writing with Ease, Level 1 (writing/composition)
Spellwell A (spelling)

Math:
BJU Math 1

Science:
Building a Foundation of Scientific Understanding

Bible, History & Geography:
My Father's World - Adventures in My Father's World

Art: 
Lamb's Book of Art I

(Also: Like her brother, she will supplement with living books in the subjects of history and science to meet reading requirements. She will be taking home economics this year, a very promising looking program, the first in the Pearables series for young girls.)




Monday, August 20, 2012

Monday, August 13, 2012

A blog just for them

If your child loves to draw or write -- consider giving them their own blog for showcasing their masterpieces!

It doesn't have to cost anything. (Many blogs out there are free -- Blogger, Tumblr, etc.)

You don't have to have much (or any) computer knowledge. (The blogging platforms nowadays make knowing HTML code an option only, not a requirement.)

You can let them customize the colors, layout, theme, and overall look of their blogs, as well as control whether or not they can log in themselves to post or whether you want to control the passwords and log in for them/with them for posting.




Little Miss Artsy loves to write stories and draw pictures, and she wanted a place to post them to share with friends and family.

So, this weekend, we finally set up a spot online for her to do just that:

My Artwork and Stories!

Simple layout, pink background (of course), it allows her to upload drawings she makes, photos she takes, and stories and captions she writes.

Tumblr is my personal recommendation for younger kids; it's very easy to use. Even at age six, she require little to no help from us with uploading and posting once we showed her how.

Not only does this give your children a sense of personal accomplishment (after all, they become published authors and/or illustrators!), it helps reduce paper clutter around your house if you choose to let this be a way you preserve their creative work!

Have fun!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Workboxes!

Well, should I say workBOX.

I didn't think it was necessary for the kids to each have their own workbox yet. Instead, they'll share one this year! I utilized a large file box and have plenty of room for the kids to have 8 file folder dividers each:


I laminated two sheets and used velcro dots to affix numbered squares to correspond to the tabs on the folders. Each folder will house an assignment and/or subject. I'll change the folder's contents out each evening for the next day. As the kids complete each folder's contents, they can affix the number to their "Look What I Did Today" poster. (I taped one on the front and one on the back of the file box.)




Not the fanciest OR the prettiest workbox on the block, but I think it'll work for us!

Check out other workbox ideas and methods here (Sue Patrick, the matriarch of the workbox system), here, and here.