Archive for March, 2010
Children Learn What They Live
by Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D
If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.
Great words to keep in mind for homeschoolers, teachers, parents and anyone who has children in their life!
Lessons for spring – it’s a walk in the park
As the spring season meets us there a many chances for lessons in nature, science, health and more all you need to do is take a walk in the park (or neighbourhood, woods etc.)
The coming of spring brings a change in weather (Science), brings birds back to start their families (nature), creates new blossoms from the barren ground and trees (ecology) and brings sights, sounds and smells to inspire poetry (English).
When you take a walk in the spring, take your time. Look for new signs of life, listen for birds to identify and feel the warm winds on your face. Plan a garden, do a nature craft or learn about the power of the sun.
Get outdoors in the spring because you will find a lesson everywhere around you!
It’s not what you learn, it’s what you know!
Homeschool lessons are full of facts, figures and information. Obviously, your students will not retain everything they learn. But the main lesson for them to get is how to find the answer.
Knowing how to find the answer is as good as knowing the answer. Not only does it teach children how to become independent learners but it also allows them to know the answer to any question they come by. When a child asks a question, certainly it is easy to offer them the answer. But it is a better learning lesson if you show them how they can find that out for themselves. Encyclopedias, dictionaries and thesauruses can be used to find information, understand spelling or understand the meaning of a word. The internet is a great tool for search and find. Also, how to use the library is an important lesson on independent learning. At first, teaching them how to find the answers themselves will be a time-consuming lesson but eventually, much of their studies can be done on their own.
It is also encouraging for a child who is struggling with math or finds it hard to remember all the dates in history, that should they come across the need to know this information, there are ways to find it out.
Garbage Day Craft Creations
Ever have one of those days when you are not sure what to teach? You are tired or not feeling well, have nothing prepared? Well why not have a Garbage Craft Day.
For this activity you need glue, tape, crayons and a recycling bin full of plastics, boxboard and paper. (avoid any dangerous items like metal cans). Make a pile of these recyclables in the middle of the room and give the kids a theme like – space ships or insects – then let them at it. Kids will spend hours sifting, creating and having fun building a garbage day creation. They will be learning engineering concepts as well as stretching their creativity. You can also follow up with lesson on recycling.
Smaller kids would love to use a cardboard box and turn it into a car, or rocket by adding wheels (pie plates, margarine tub lids etc), antenna, steering wheels and more!!
It is great to allow students to have self-directed activities, and very helpful on days when you need something to fill-in to your lesson!
Living and Learning Green
The environment and the issues surrounding it is a common topic today. It is important to teach children about the environment, about the threats to it and about how they can help.
Simply reducing, reusing and recycling can be the first steps to helping the environment. Lead by example: recycle used paper (make sure you use both sides), seperate your trash into recyclable, compostable and reusable (great sorting lesson for kids). Donate out-grown clothing to a thrift store or charity, pay attention to packaging when buying products. Getting your children involved in the choices and the actions will help them learn how important it is to do.
Use downloadable resources so you only need to print the pages you need. Use household items meant for the recycling bin for crafts and science experiments. Melt down old crayons to make new ones, use a blackboard to write notes rather than paper. Adopt some wildlife as a gift for someone or as part of your school lesson plan. We adopted a sea turtle, then learned all about it and tracked his movements in the ocean!
Just the effort of thinking about it, and making good choices can make a world of difference.
To help pass the lesson on read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, underneath all the rhyme and silliness there is a strong message!
Today is Peanut Butter lovers day! They seem to have a day for everything, but that is good, it creates ideas for some fun lesson plans.
Discover how peanut butter (or any nut butter) is made, a good science lesson plan. Use peanut butter in a recipe to make something, a great math lesson plan. Make a craft using peanut butter, fill a pine cone with the nut butter and roll it in bird seed, this is a great bird feeder and can inspire a nature lesson plan. The peanut itself can be used as a manipulative (you can fake ones or even ones that are erasers if there are allergies). Or talk about elephants, do they really eat peanuts? The peanut is protected by a shell, what other plants have protectors around them, why?
So many ideas can be spawned from one special, albeit strange, day!