Miss Mellie Helen's Homeschool Spot

(Ahem.) Hello there.

2005-06-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

Oooooh, last post here was in...February. Looks like I'm spending my homeschooling time in actually homeschooling, rather than blogging about homeschooling -- which is fine!

But, I may return to blogging here about homeschooling, so I shall keep this blog up for the time being. I may come back, I may not, but in the meantime, there are some GREAT homeschool sites there in the sidebar for you to check out and enjoy. If I do return to active status here, I shall endeavor to make it widely known.

If you're looking for my "mommy" blog, called Golly Blog Howdy!, it's located over here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hi There! Remember Me?

2005-02-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm still around, but for the past three solid weeks, my family and I have been sick, sick, SICK with a hateful flu. The past two days we just started feeling well enough to function (I did thirteen loads of laundry, thank you, and we actually made it to church for this first time in February), and then, last night? My 4-yr-old son, Astro, started running a fever again, coughing 'til he, er, gagged himself sick, nose became runny, etc. And my 2-yr-old daughter, Rainbow, started coughing again. And I started feeling achy and lifeless and my throat felt scratchy again and I too started coughing again and is this ever going to stop??? Sheesh!!

So to keep you abreast of our homeschool life, just pretend that, had I put in an entry every day from Feb. 7th 'til today (inclusive), it would have read: "Family and I are still sick and our lives consist of watching videos and sleeping". That should bring you up to date.

I remember when I was a kid, attending (gasp!) public school, if you were home with an extended illness, the teacher would send homework over for you to work on as you could, so that you wouldn't fall too far behind. A good thing about homeschooling is that, although we have done almost not a lick of work in almost a whole month, I have no qualms about us "catching up". We don't need to keep up with some arbitrary set of deadline dates to accomplish our annual goals. Although I would like my children to be able to do simple addition before their senior year, we don't need to be in a panic mode with my two- and four-year olds missing a month of lesson plans.

That being said, we did get quite a lot of reading done, actually. Astro is funny: he will pick up any of a number of easy readers and get through them flyingly. Then, when we go to the Hooked on Phonics workbook, he makes it appear to be a great struggle. I suspect it's because when he finishes each story in the workbook and accompanying booklets, he gets a star on his reading chart. I suppose the strained effort makes the attainment so much the sweeter. But come on -- struggling over words like "put" when he reads words like "because" and "through" and "know" without so much as batting an eyelash. I think he enjoys a bit of drama.

Rainbow, meanwhile, startled me last night. I had the pantry door open and was searching for something or other, when she cried out, "We had that sometime in the morning! I want that! May I have that please, Mommy?" "What's that, honey?", I asked. "Waffles!" Well, of course, we don't keep waffles in the pantry, but in the freezer. I thought she was confused, maybe looking at the pancake syrup -- nope, that's in the other pantry cupboard, and wasn't visible. "What waffles do you see, honey?", I asked. "There!", she said, pointing at the pantry. "What the heck is she looking at?", I wondered. Then I saw it. There was a box in the pantry that said "waffle" on it, because it contained waffle bowls (for serving ice cream treats). No picture of any waffle-like product was visible, and, as I had just purchased this item for the first time recently and the kids had not yet seen it, I couldn't figure out how she managed to identify that as a "waffle" product -- except for the large word "waffle" on the package. Not generally a "first" sight word one expects their child to learn, but evidently she had indeed learned it. Who knew?

Today we worked on a little French, using the "Muzzy" videos. Astro asked if we could get Muzzy in German (we've been doing some minor German on the side, but nothing grand). I'd like to get that, because they already know the story (and it's the same story, regardless of which language you select) and they're picking up on the languages pretty good. Rainbow has a particularly acute ear for languages. Here she is, two and a half, still says "wuv" for "love", but give her a phrase in French and she not only learns the phrase, but delivers with a rather authentic pronunciation. Hubs and I have been toying with the idea of plugging Latin into our lesson plan; we both think it would be a good idea, but we haven't made any definitive decision about that just yet.

So far in our homeschooling endeavors, some aptitudes have already begun to show themselves. Rainbow is keen on languages, reading, singing, music, art (her favorite medium is the honored Play-Doh), and making up stories. Astro, who enjoys and is quite good at reading, would still rather build things, figure out how things work, and explain how things work (as opposed to telling a story, for example). He also really enjoys numbers; although he can't yet do a whole lot with them, he incorporates numbers and faux formulas into his playtime and activities, which tells me that math will be a big favorite of his. Just like Daddy (and not at all like Mommy!).

I haven't had much opportunity to look around at homeschooling blogs this past month, but hope to catch up on things soon. So tell me: what's new with you?

What Kind of Art is "Mozart"?

2005-02-12T16:55:00.000-08:00

I'm considering enrolling Astro in a charter school this fall (kindergarten). Their curriculum is based on the classical approach to education. He would only go to the charter twice a week; the rest of the time would be homeschooling as usual.

One of the courses they offer is art, using the Monart method. Have any of you used this approach to art? What have your experiences been? What other art programs have you used, and what has been your experience of those?

Bible By The Numbers

2005-02-04T18:55:00.000-08:00

When I had recently posted information on how to get a free parenting program, I received a reminder from my brother regarding a product that he has put out, called Bible By The Numbers. This may be an item of interest to fellow homeschoolers out there, so here's a commercial plug for this item. As Dan puts it:

This is my collection of children’s Bible stories, songs and activities that some homeschool parents are beginning to use. Each volume comes with over 30 songs, activities and stories parents can use in any form they desire to help their kids learn the Bible. Includes a stereo CD of all the songs AND all the material is REPRODUCIBLE! More info is available at my website, Dandykat.com. Thanks!

What he doesn't mention is that there are other items available there, like children's music, church drama resources, and more. Additionally, tons of great Christian items are available through his online Christian bookstore, so go check it out. Tell him his little sister sent ya.

What House Do You Live In?

2005-02-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

While I was searching around for Valentines graphics to use on my other blog (yes, the irony that THIS blog is the one that really needs graphic help did not escape me), I came across this little ditty on the Kids Page at Pat's Web Graphics. Are we criticizers, or encouragers?

Thanks to Pat for the reminder that children learn what they live.

What House Do You Live In?

"I got two A's," the small boy cried.
His voice was filled with glee.
His father very bluntly asked,
"Why didn't you get three?"

"Mom. I've got the dishes done!"
The girl called from the door.
Her mother very calmly said,
"And did you sweep the floor?"

"I've mowed the grass," the tall boy said,
"And put the mower away!"
His father asked him, with a shrug.
"Did you clean off the clay?"

The children in the house next door
Seem happy and content.
The same things happened over there,
But this is how it went:

"I got two A's," the small boy cried,
His voice was filled with glee.
His father proudly said, "That's great!
I'm glad you live with me!"

"Mom I've got the dishes done!
The girl called from the door.
Her mother smiled and softly said.
"Each day I love you more."

"I've mowed the grass." the tall boy said.
"And put the mower away!"
His father answered with much joy.
"You've made my happy day!"

Children deserve a little praise
For tasks they're asked to do
If they're to lead a happy life.
So much depends on you.

- Author Unknown

Get a Free Parenting Program!

2005-01-31T10:28:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: The product discussed herein is brought to you by the original creator of the JumpStart series, but the product itself is not affiliated with JumpStart. I have edited this entry to reflect the correction. - M.H.

Here's an offer that you might be interested in: The creator of JumpStart (fun and educational videos and software for kids) is coming out soon with a new program called "My Reward Board", which is designed to help kids get into good habits by doing their chores in a fun way.

"My Reward Board" is seeking Beta Testers to try out the program. Check it out and advise them of any bugs you encounter, things you like about the program, things you don't like, and things you'd like to see incorporated into the program.

For your beta testing efforts, you will receive a FREE COPY of the software when it comes out in a couple of months from now!

My kids enjoy the JumpStart series, and I'd love to beta test this new item from its creator; however, the program is currently not set up for Mac (although I'm told a later version will be Mac compatible). So for all you Windows users out there, now is the time to "Jump" (ha ha) on the bandwagon for this offer. Please tell 'em Miss Mellie Helen's Homeschool Spot sent you.

Here's the info from Barton Listick, the original creator of the JumpStart series (himself a homeschooler!):

"My Reward Board" Beta Test Program

As parents we all struggle to get our kids to do the things they should (or need to) do. Some tasks are practical, like helping with dishes or doing homework, while others are behavioral, like not teasing a sibling. The reason we care at all (beyond the benefits of a clean room!) is that we want our kids to grow into responsible, healthy and happy adults.

That’s where My Reward Board fits in. With reward coupons, fun animations and achievement certificates, this unique program turns chores and goals into fun and games. Before long your kids will be striving every day to do their best as they eagerly await the end of the week and their star points reward. The program is very configurable in order to accommodate different parenting styles.

Participants will receive a free copy of the program when it's released in 1-2 months.

The only requirements for participation are that you have children ages 5 to 12, and a Pentium II (or better) computer, running at 400 mhz (or faster), with the Windows operating system (Windows 98 or later).

If you agree to help out, the most important thing we ask is that you use the program frequently, try out all of the features, and give us as much feedback as possible. The first priority is to find and fix any bugs (problems) in the program, but we also want to hear your ideas on what you like and what could be added or changed to make it better.

If you'd like to apply please send an email to: beta@trylonix.com

Thank you very much for your time!

Regards,

Barton Listick

A Dirty Lesson

2005-01-24T10:37:00.000-08:00

It's January. It's winter. So what did we do yesterday? We planted a spring garden! Oh, the joys of living in Sunny California, where we can trot out in shorts and T-shirts on a winter's day.

We had been doing the ol' celery-stalk-in-the-colored-water trick to see how plants take water up through their roots and distribute it throughout the plant. Now we were ready to put some actual plants into some actual soil.

Snapdragons, stock, violas, pansies, allysum, and California Poppies were our selections. We divvied them up to be planted into various pots. Astro had the job of choosing which size pot should be employed for planting each group of flowers we had set aside. We talked about drainage, sunlight, soil, water; all the things necessary for a healthy plant. Including not pulling the petals off the flowers (Rainbow was helpful in providing the impetus for that particular portion of the lesson). Astro learned how to carefully remove the plants from the six-pack, gently separate the roots at the bottom, set the plant into the pot, mound the soil around the roots up to the base of the plant, and then water the plant in its new home.

Astro very much wanted the poppies to be placed in a pot in his bedroom, but after our discussion of how some plants require lots and lots of sunlight, and our comparison of that requirement with the lack of direct sunlight coming into his room, he relented and allowed the plant to remain outside, in order to keep it healthy. (Well, now that almost sounds like Astro's room is a dark closet. Not so!)

Rainbow's gardening lesson was more of a music lesson, as she sang, "Pretty flower, oh pretty flower, pretty pretty flower". And put buckets over her head. And dumped soil into the watering can. Well, I had indeed said that plants need both soil and water!

Next on our study of plant life: the ol' bean-nestled-into-a-jar-of-water-secured-with-construction-paper trick. We're going with the quickly germinating green bean for that one.

Following the gardening lesson, I could have added a laundry lesson, but I let them run and play in the garden, delighting in the new bursts of scent and color around them, while I did the clean up work.

Sometimes, being a teacher means getting your hands dirty.

Fluttering Away the Grey

2005-01-08T17:11:00.000-08:00

[Yes, I know, my title bar and other little tidbits still don't look right. I'm working on it!]

Look what we made today!

A rainy, dreary, grey day, and more to come, says the weatherman. Pshaw! We brightened up our learning loft with some colorful butterflies. Grabbed some coffee filters, watercolors, and twisty ties, since we don't have any clothespins [who does??] and soon we had fluttery little butterflies to remind us that Spring is just around the corner.

If I tell myself that enough times, I just may believe it.

Astronaut Engineer In Training

2005-01-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

[I'm supposed to be busy working on a project here at the house, not posting or viewing other blogs, so SSSSHHHHHH don't tell anyone! And pay no attention to the obviously unfinished template here; I'm working on it!!]

Santa got the kids a kit wherein you assemble a bunch of plastic pieces together in various configurations to form a sort of roller coaster of chutes and rails that, when completed, becomes a fun track for running marbles through. We thought it might be just a little advanced for our 4.5 year old son, Astro, so he and Daddy put the track together as a team the first few times.

Then Astro started putting it together himself. And if his configuration didn't work, he found out why and explained to us why it wasn't working, and what needed to happen in order to work properly. He would then proceed to correct the design, and make improvements upon the design. He would picture in his mind the pieces he could put together and the type of result that would achieve, explained that to us, and then proceeded to build it.

So. I guess it wasn't too advanced for him after all! I think there's an engineer inside that little boy of mine. Now I'm keeping my eye peeled for other kinds of things that he can assemble. Hey, kid, we've got a couple of chairs that need fixing...

It's neat to see the blossoming of what you have long suspected. He has always seemed to be strong with mentally assessing spacial relationships, but this is the first really amazing exhibition of just how strong he is in that area.

Gee, maybe he really will grow up to be an astronaut...er, engineer...er, BOTH!

Construction Zone

2005-01-02T01:37:00.000-08:00

Should you be in need of a little ego boost, you've come to the right place. Why, just lookee at what I can do! An' ahm learnin' mah young'uns, too!!

Yes, as you can plainly see, I am attempting to redesign the template here. Quite amusing, as I have never before attempted something like this. The biggest online graphic arts job I've ever done is to link a few images to my site. But figuring out all this programming babble? CSS, html, padding, px, yadda yadda yadda...I feel like Murder, She Wrote's Jessica Fletcher, putting together clues and trying to discern how it all fits together.

Soon this site will either be charmingly countrified in a schoolhouse style, or it'll be back to Blogger Basic. Find out in about a week or so.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2004-12-24T13:21:00.000-08:00

Won't be posting here for several days. Well, yes, I do realize that's par for the course for this blog so far. But after the holidays, Miss Mellie Helen's Homeschool Spot will be more active, with more postings more regularly, and more links to cool fun learning stuff.

'Til then: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! Whoo-hooo!

That's Mrs. Potato Head!

2004-12-21T18:15:00.000-08:00

This certainly reflects my body shape well enough, but I never expected it to be my homeschooling style:

Mr. Potato Head: You have your ideal of how things
should look, but you're flexible enough to allow
for change. You are not bothered by changing
methods, mid-course if necessary. You use an
eclectic combination of curriculum sources.
What Type of Homeschooler Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

How 'bout you?

Gingerbread Wonderment

2004-12-20T19:49:00.000-08:00

Following the Christmas theme list as presented below, December 19th was Gingerbread House Day. If you'd like to see the house the kids and I created together, click here. It was loads of fun, with plenty of opportunities to practice counting, discuss half vs. whole amounts, what ingredients are put together to make what food items [in this case, primarily treat items], and logic exercises [do we put the roof on first, or erect the walls first? Why?]

Living with a homeschooling focus is really fun, in that I personally am encouraged to find the "lesson" to be learned in any mundane situation. The neat thing about that is, it forces me to pay better attention to details, to reconsider the miracles all around us every day, and to reinvigorate a sense of wonder about the simplest things.

Astro: Mommy, how do they make jelly beans?

Me: * blank stare * Um...I don't know! Maybe we can find that out together!

See? I mean, when's the last time you wondered about how jelly beans are made? My mind, thus prodded, started asking its own questions: How do they get sugar into that powdered state? How tall could I stack levels of gingerbread house before it toppled over and what archetectual factors would I need to employ to add just the right strength to my structure? Why do I so dislike the taste of peppermint except when it's presented in that cute little candy cane shape?

Fascination. Wonderment. Imagination. Learning. Wonderful gifts of the holiday season.

Merry Christmas. And no picking at the gingerbread house until Christmas Eve.

Signature Skills

2004-12-17T16:17:00.000-08:00

We were writing out Christmas cards today (yes, only just today), and for a select couple of cards, we invited the kids to write their names in themselves. It was for a select few only, because if we did this for every card, it would take about a week to fill them all out, plus the recipients would not know who the card was from, what with all the scribbling inside and all over the printed text.

We know that 4.5 yr-old Astro can spell his own name and can print out letters; it's just that his letters, when written out together to form a word, make his communications look like ransom notes. You know: Really big first letter, teeny tiny next letter, oversized and slanted next letter, then the following letter is written below the previous letter, then the next letter is scrunched up over in the corner of the page somewhere.

Rainbow, at 2.5 yrs of age, can draw shapes and some letters, but it's all quite rudimentary. I expected to see squiggles and pen-tip-punched holes as her "signature" on the card.

Both Astro and Rainbow affixed their John Hancocks; then I looked at the finished product, and was amazed: both "signatures" looked to be at about the same skill level, each with quasi-legible and readable (if you squint somewhat) letters.

Which means either Rainbow is more advanced in her writing skills than I have been giving her credit for, or Astro needs some more attention from the Printing Fairy. Or a little of both.

We haven't yet employed any "formal" writing (meaning, printing) instruction; just using the ol' ball-and-stick method. But I've heard of programs, like Handwriting Without Tears and some other methods out there that sound promising. What handwriting methods do you use, and what do you like about them?

A Genuine Holiday Spirit

2004-12-15T11:29:00.000-08:00

Do you all know Genuine? Mr. Ten Billion Hits A Day?

He's not a blogger in the homeschool genre, but a guy with a big heart who's a very popular blogger in the big ol' blogosphere, and a great read that I try to catch daily. And he's started a holiday campaign that YOU might like to participate in.

See, he's in the Holiday Spirit of Giving mode. He's trying to raise funds which will be directed to an organization that will provide gifts to kids who would otherwise have none. And Genuine's approaching this fundraiser in a very fun and clever (if not narcissistic) manner: the highest bidder will receive Genuine as Guest Blogger on their site for a week! What a score!

Oooh, but, what if a group of bloggers gets together and makes a group bid? Genuine says that he would honor such a bid, were it to indeed be the highest bid, with the result that Genuine would guest on the blog of each participating member for one day (e.g., group of seven bloggers would each have Gen guest blog for one day, over a period of a week). Obviously, if 50 people want to join a group, it would wear poor Gen's fingers down to the nub, so the group size will have to be limited. Post your bid here to get into the group; highest bidders will be in the group, which will be defined by 12/19.

This method may a) make it more affordable for individuals to participate, and b) garner a collectively larger donation to the fundraiser, and c) spread more Genuine across the blogosphere (because we all know how badly he needs that), thus driving more traffic to YOUR site (and possibly introducing more people to the concept of homeschooling!). Net result: More gifts for more kids! More bloggers to enjoy Genuine on their sites! More people visiting YOUR site! More delicious holiday fun for everyone, and without consuming extra carbs! It's a win-win!

If you're interested in participating in the auction individually, go directly to Genuine's blog. If, however, you're interested in bonding together in a group effort to bring lots of joys to lots of girls and boys, then let it be known here!

Who's for brightening a child's holiday? Speak up!

UPDATE 12/15 11:15am PST: Highest bid at Genuine's stands at $100 - our total group bid currently adds up to $90, so, we're hot on their heels -- let's keep it coming! Be a blessing to others and enjoy the fun of bringing NEW visitors to your site! Come toss in your bid!

It's All In The Stars

2004-12-12T21:10:00.000-08:00

My mom is visiting us for the holidays, and we took advantage of the beautiful, warm, spring-like weather yesterday to take the kids to a local park for fun and recreation. Last month, a new memorial was installed there for Veteran's Day. Unlike so many vet memorials, this one stops you in your tracks and drapes its poignancy upon you. We spent some time at the memorial, looking it over and reading all the inscriptions.

My son Astro (so called because he appends "Astronaut-in-Training" to his name when introducing himself), who is four and a half, wanted Grandma to see one particular inscription. Grandma dutifully came over to where Astro was standing, and watched with gaping mouth as Astro proceeded to read almost the entire inscription without assistance.

"Wow, he's doing a lot more than the H**ked on Ph*nics books!" she exclaimed.

Which is true. He reads all on his own from the Dr. Seuss books, a Mickey Mouse "Learn To Read" collection, and many others in our home library, including a reprint collection of the Dick and Jane books. He reads the Dick and Jane books to his little sister Rainbow just before they go to sleep at night. Astro even sometimes reads what I'm typing or reading on the computer, and can read quite a bit from newspapers (even if he doesn't really understand the concepts).

But he really gets excited when he completes another H*P book. I mean, he dances around and shouts and has to run to Daddy and read the book to him, and then he gets a STAR on his chart and -- if he were a puppy, he'd be making a puddle on the floor, that's how excited he gets. For books with three- and four- letter words that all share the same vowel sound. When he can do far more complex stuff.

Why is this?

I think it has something to do with The Chart. There's a chart we have up on our bulletin board, and each time he reads a book, he gets a star-shaped sticker placed on the chart next to the name of the book he's just completed.

So I'm thinking...

star chart for putting laundry in hamper instead of middle of the bedroom floor

star chart for each hour that passes without him tormenting his little sister

star chart for wiping his own bottom after using the facilities (he's recently become adverse to doing this)

and so on.

Star charts everywhere...think it'll help?

B (Buh) O (Aw) B (Buh) - "Buh-Aw-Buh"!

2004-12-10T11:13:00.000-08:00

It's the Best of Blog Awards (or "BoB Awards"), and they're accepting nominations NOW! Go on over and nominate your favorite homeschooling blog (this one excluded) as well as your other favorite blogs. No political blogs allowed, though -- they seem to have their own awards category, eh?!?

What are you still doing here? GIT!

Code Warrior...not quite.

2004-12-09T01:05:00.000-08:00

Um, if you see some bizarre code in my sidebar, it's because I am a coding newbie and am Having Issues with getting a few things to work properly. Which is also why the homeschool links are presently of differing sizes. Sorry 'bout all that. Hope to have it rectified soon. This is the reason I currently only homeschool a two- and four-year old, and not teenagers who are planning to become programmers. Feh.

Huff-Puff-Huff-Puff!

2004-12-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

Hurry! Run with me! Let's catch up!!

Having been away out of town, and gone longer than we had originally anticipated, we have missed out on some of our Christmas lessons and activities as outlined in the post below. But that's one of the cool things about homeschooling: you can adjust your lesson schedule to work with your life schedule. We may have missed our "assigned" day to learn about how candles are made, for example, but in the car during the trip we sang Christmas carols and discussed what they mean, and during our trip we experienced the renewal of friendships with those who live far away, and we participated in sharing the holiday spirit with others. Not bad!

And who says we have to "catch up" and do every lesson in the order exactly as outlined? We don't! I am grateful for the few days that were tentatively "unscheduled", as that will allow us to visit our missed lessons then, in a relaxed way, rather than trying to cram all of it in on one day (as might happen in a traditional school setting when a kid misses several days of class).

Later today I will come back here and post links to some of the free/printable/online lessons and activities I'm using in our lessons so you at home can follow along. The links will be in the original "Christmas Themes" post below, placed in the themes where they belong, not in a new post.

UPDATE 12/8: New links added under the Angel theme (theme #3 on the list).

UPDATE 12/9: New links added to:

Christmas Lights (theme #4)

Holiday Plants and Greenery (theme #12)

Santa Claus (theme #24).

UPDATE 12/10: New link added to Candy Cane (theme #16)

Okay, everyone take a niiiiice deeeep breath now...and let's slow down, and enjoy the season. Ahhh, that's better.

Christmas Themes

2004-11-28T23:24:00.000-08:00

I am currently working on the lesson schedules for December (and none too soon, given that there's only two days left of November), and will be focusing a great deal on Christmas themes. My kids are quite young, and don't have all the traditions drilled into their conciousnesses yet, so it's time for a little Yuletide Indoctrination of both the religious and secular varieties (See Santa...or Not? in my other blog).

Here are my themes for each day in December. These Christmas-oriented items are in addition to the regular phonics, pre-math, and other lessons we do daily. We homeschool every day, not out of forced education, but it just goes that way for us. Given the age and attention span of our tiny kids, we're not at it for hours at a time, so a little dose once or twice every day seems to do the trick. Note the huge gaps of empty space on several days: those represent the places where my brain ran dry for other Christmas ideas, so if you see that I'm missing anything obvious, shout it out. I'm still fleshing this out, but it'll give an idea of where we're headed.

We've already made our Christmas Countdown chains (one per kid) and are leafing through various cookbooks to plan our cookie baking for the next couple of weeks. My intent now is to plan out an activity and/or craft, a song (noted in italics), a scripture, and a coloring page and/or worksheet for each day in December.

Daily Christmas Themes for December

The Christmas Story Overview
Read the Christmas story from the Bible
Song: For Unto Us A Child Is Born
Verse: John 3:16

Welcoming the Baby Jesus
Activities: Make nativity scene (popsicle sticks); Nativity Coloring Pages
Song: Away In A Manger

Angels
The angel who came to Mary; angels watching over us
Activities: Angel TP Roll craft; Paper Plate Angels
Song: Angels We Have Heard On High

Christmas Light
Lessons: The making and history of candles: see here and here; Christmas Lights: see history of electric Christmas lights; How Christmas Lights Work
Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12)

Wreaths
Activity: Wreath crafts: this one or this one

Christmas Cookies
Activities: Make cookies; make cookie ornaments

Caroling
Christmas Carols and Songs
Sing Unto the Lord A New Song

Gift Shopping
Choosing gifts for others / use of money / wrapping and presenting gifts thoughtfully

[unscheduled as yet -- possibly "Peace" theme, with Silent Night song]

[unscheduled as yet -- possibly the O. Henry story (hairbrush/watch) w/Mickey video on same theme]

Ornaments
Activities: Make ornaments; Coloring Pages

Holiday Plants and Greenery
Discuss: Nat’l Poinsettia Day; Poinsettia Facts (no, they're not poisonous) and information; Poinsettia: “Flower of the Holy Night”; Poinsettia Devotional(!); discuss boughs, pines, evergreens vs. decidious
Activity: Learn the parts of the Poinsettia plant; Activity & Coloring Pages; Purchase a Poinsettia to display on front porch
Song: The Holly and The Ivy

Christmas Trees
Activity: Buy and decorate our tree; Watch Charlie Brown Christmas
Song: O Christmas Tree

[unscheduled as yet]

[unscheduled as yet]

Candy Canes
Legend of candy cane shape/colors/meaning; also candy cane recipes/crafts/activities

Reindeer
Activity: Reindeer craft; Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer video
Song: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Stockings
Story of Santa & stockings hung to dry by the fireplace
Activity: Make Stocking craft (using brown shopping bags and yarn -- lacing exercise); also Glitter Glue Stocking Craft

Gingerbread
Activity: Bake and decorate Gingerbread House
Verse: As for me and my house we will serve the Lord

Little House Christmas
Activity: Watch Little House Christmas episode and discuss - Christmas simplicity

Gifts
Discuss: The 3 gifts given to the Christ child; gifts God has given us
Activities: elf-presents worksheet and elfgifts maze; Giving (give crafts to Seniors?); Giving Tree
Song: We Three Kings

[unscheduled as yet]

Christmas Bells
Activities: Ringing bells; Bell Craft; Coloring
Song: Carol of the Bells

Santa Claus
Activities: Santa Face Craft; Santa Lollipops (scroll down about 1/3 of page to find that; there are LOTS of good Christmas ideas on that page!); and Coloring; Cookies and milk for Santa
Song: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Birthday Party for Jesus
Activity: Birthday Cake
Song: Happy Birthday Baby Jesus

I'll update on this post as lesson plans solidify.

School's In Session!

2004-11-28T21:59:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Miss Mellie Helen's Homeschool Spot! This is a brand new blog, designed with two purposes in mind:

To have a place for me to track what work we're doing in our little homeschool world, while allowing others to take a look and see whether there's anything they might like to use in their homeschool plans, or just see another person's approach to homeschooling.

To provide a forum (via comments) for homeschoolers to share their thoughts, ideas, and approaches to homeschooling.

We homeschoolers run the gamut from totally regimental to completely freewheeling; from strongly religious to outright atheistic. There are as many ways to homeschool as there are families -- no, children -- in the world. Miss Mellie Helen's Homeschool falls somewhere in the middle ground, though I'm not exactly sure just where. But this much I do know: since we all do have such varied approaches, suggestions and comments are welcome, while "shoulds" and outright flaming are most unwelcome. We "play nice" at our school.

As I post our work and our progress, feel free to comment about your thoughts on the projects, or how you might approach the projects differently (and why). You might even feel that an important segment of a project may have been missed and wish to volunteer a suggestion. Or maybe you know of a great resource that would be a useful reference. As I say in my subheading above: Learn and let learn!

And thanks for stopping by.