Don't be afraid plant away!

A great science project K -3 is to get gads dirty and plant away!  Don't get me wrong I am not the green thumb kind, it does not come easy to me!  But goodness was it worth it.  I went to the store, picked some seeds with my kids, got a few other things and decided to get started right in my kitchen!

My husband did not appreciate it so much.  But was he impressed when we got our first carrots!

No book, no exercise, no science center, no puzzle can compare to how much we learn about the life of a plant, the difference between living and non-living things, and the hard work of a farmer than by planting ourselves.  Appreciating the food on our tables starts by knowing how much work it took someone to grow it!  And in the end it is also a great way of learning patience and perseverance two great virtues!

Go on, get brave and get started!  I did and it payed of!

As the weeks go by, you can chose a day in which you can re-enforce what she is witnessing and learning with a nice science center exercise!

Have fun and remember :  Homeschool, it will always be worth your effort!!

Math with beans!

This is a nice way of practicing Math with manipulatives you can find right at home!

Nothing better that being able to really picture what it means to ad and subtract.  To see it, to touch it, to feel it!  Well here is another nice idea I found in Pinterest that worked for my Kindergardener.

 Get a bunch of beans

Get a muffin tray and muffin paper holders.  Put them in the muffin tray and write some simple addition and subtraction equations.  Let your kid take charge !

My girl loved it !  She was the one picking how many beans , placing them in the right spot and then counting totals.  It was a great afternoon!

Have fun and remember :  Homeschool, it will always be worth your effort!!

Sorting ! Oh what fun!

Sorting is part of Math for Pre-K and K and it can be loads of fun!  We chose an art project we found in Pinterest.  It was great fun and the kids really got into it.  I was able to do it with my five year old and my three year old together.  It was a time of collaboration and big sitter teaching the colours of the rainbow.  in the end this art project kills two birds with one stone....you get a math exercise and an art project all wrapped up in one cozy and fun afternoon!  Here are the pictures, I highly recommend it!

 Look around the house and find all sorts of colourful (use only colours of the rainbow), bright and fun things to use in your collage.  We used paperclips, ribbon, paper, foam shapes etc.  The girls had lots of fun sorting them into groups according to color.

The night before you want to make a nice rainbow out of construction paper.  This one is mine, not a work of art but good enough!

 Have the kids apply glue color by color and start pasting the different objects.  They can be as creative as they wish but they need to stay within a given color!

Voila !  Finished product is gorgeous, you can proudly display it in your living room to impress your friends and family LOL.  Well the girls were happy I thought it was good enough to go in the living room !!

At the end you can have a colouring sheet to reinforce the color order!

Have fun and remember :  Homeschool, it will always be worth your effort!!

Starting early !

This year I am going to be homeschooling my three kids!  I felt very nervous about the thought of the year ahead of us.  I almost felt like asking my husband to put them in school and forgetting about homeschooling.  But then again I was reminded by my husband that every year I have felt the same nervousness for one reason or another.  Every year I get doubts and I get insecure.  My husband as always encouraged me and reminded me of just how successful and fulfilling homeschooling has proven to be.

My anxiety about the year ahead eased after our conversation, and then I decided to call my good friend Rita.  I shared how I had been feeling and she asked me when I was planning to start.  I told her as late as possible and not one second before I had to.  She giggled and sweetly shared how she actually loved starting early because in this way she did not have so much pressure as the year progressed.  She told me if they needed to take a few days off because of illness or because they were having a bad week, well, starting early just made it so much easier!

 I though about what my sweet friend Rita said, who by the way has 5 kids of her own - 8 yrs. old  and under - and I knew she was right.  Knowing she had just had a baby and that she has 2 more kids than me gave me courage to start my year.  How could I be such a chicken, my sweet friend Rita and so many other amazing homeschooling friends continuously remind me of how much we can accomplish with God's grace.


Yes I can do it!  Yes this year will be yet another amazing year!  Yes no more procrastinating and finding excuses.