Shakespeare's Scribe

If you haven't read the Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood, you need to.  It's great historical fiction and writing.  My husband liked it so much that he stayed up so he could finish reading it and then asked for the sequel!  This is actually a triology.  My daughter read the first book already so I had her read the second one, Shakespeare's Scribe.

Here is a handout of what I had her work on while she read the book.  These kind of activities help her to reflect more on the book and makes reading more exciting.

Shakespeare’s Scribe

Scavenger Hunt-See if you can find all these clues!

Setting:  Where does this book take place and what time period?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Characters:  List the main characters and describe them.  (personality, appearance, etc.)

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What do you learn about the Globe Theater and plays during Shakespeare’s time?  List some interesting facts.

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Write 6 new words that you didn’t know before and their definitions

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What was the mystery and/or problem in this book?

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List any clues that you find in the book that would solve the mystery.

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Make a book cover for your book.

Do research on Shakespeare and write a short biography on his life.

Copy your favorite quote or sentence from the book.

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The Second Mrs. Giaconda

I am trying to be more creative this year and not just stick to having my daughter just answer reading comprehension questions or do summaries on the books she has read.

Here is my simple idea for a unit study on The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg.  Hope this is helpful!

The Second Mrs. Giaconda Activities (Complete all by Wednesday Sept. 13)

Do this in your reading notebook and/or write it on the computer.

Write 8 new vocabulary words and their definitions in your notebook.  After you are finished writing all vocabulary words, test yourself on quizlet.com  

Do research on the background of the Mona Lisa and write a paper on your findings.

Print out artprojectsforkids.org/portfolio/fun-with-mona-lisa and make your own modern version of Mona Lisa.  There are other projects on the Mona Lisa if you search on that website. 

The Second Mrs. Giaconda   is E.L. Konigsburg’s idea of the story behind the Mona Lisa.  What do you think of her version of the story?  Do you think it is believable?  Write a story about what you think really happened.  Make it interesting.  Use dialogue, descriptive words, etc.

Great Idea for History next year

Dear Friends,
It's been a while since I've posted anything.  I saw this on one of my favorite blogs and it looked really exciting!  Check out the link below:

http://www.halfahundredacrewood.com/2016/05/history-through-summer-and-beyond

Makes me want to try something new for next year!  My daughter loves hands on learning with lots of visuals.

The Search for Good Literature for Children

I don't know about your kids but my kids love to read. I mean LOVE to read.  So, it's been a challenge being in a country without a library.  That's why we love our Kindles!

It's been harder to find quality books that are not junk.  I thought I would share some good ones we've read.

Viking Adventure Series

This is a great Christian book series.  My kids really liked these books and thought they were really exciting.

http://www.lwjbooks.com/books/viking-quest-series/

My daughter really likes the "Humphrey" series which are books whose main character is a hamster.  Often there is a lesson to be learned.

The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck was another book recommended by my daughter.

The Case of the Purloined Professor by Judy Cox is another cute book about mice.

The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson is a really good book written by someone who went through the Holocaust himself.  Depending on how sensitive your children are, you may want to read this with them.  It really is an inspiring book about how people can persevere through the most difficult times.

Russia Study

We're enjoying our study on Russia.  Honestly, I did not know much about Russia so I'm learning along with my kids!

My husband has been reading books at night to the kids before they go to bed.  For our study on Russia, we read Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin.

Wow...it's been a while since I've read a book like that.  I really transports to that era.  You can't help but read it in one sitting.  Once you finish, you have to just sit and ponder for a while. It's that powerful.  I also found this website that gives more background about the setting of the book.  http://www.eugeneyelchinbooks.com/breakingstalinsnose/index.php

After we read that, we had to read another book by Eugene Yelchin so we read his next book, Archady's Goal.  It's another excellent book.  Very emotionally stirring.  Yelchin illustrated both books himself and the pictures itself are worth a thousand words.

I found loads of websites with activities on Russia.  There's a lot to study.  I like this website:  http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com/lapbooks/russia.shtml

Another website that was helpful was http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/russia-crafts .  There's a lot of great crafts and note booking pages.  My son did research on wikipedia and then wrote a report on the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.

China Study

We have enjoyed studying about China these past couple of weeks.  There is so much we can do!  We made two lap books on China.

www.homeschoolshare.com/country_china.php

www.homeschoolshare.com/ancient_china_lapbook.php

We also watched the Ancient China portion of History with Pipo.  You can watch it online here:

www.hulu.com/kids-animated-history-with-pipo

Or you can purchase it on Amazon.  I highly recommend it.

Resources for Korea Study

Some Great Korean Food!  Makes My Mouth Water...

There are a lack of resources online regarding Korea.  I had to do a lot of searching.  We have been enjoying reading Tales of the Korean Grandmother together.  My children are half Taiwanese and half Korean so this part of our Eastern Hemisphere has been important to them.

Every time we study a different country, we put all the maps, writing, artwork related to that country on a bulletin board.

Here are some websites that were helpful to me:
http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-pages/print/north-korea-coloring-page/ 

There is another one for south korea on the same website.  This has a nice flag to color and information about it.

I really liked this website since it has nice coloring pages with information related to Chuseok, the Korean fall celebration.  My children colored theirs with oil pastels.

http://www.theholidayzone.com/chuseok/art.html

This website has a great idea for a 3-D craft that you can make.  I looked up information about the south gate on wikipedia.  My kids came up with their own variation of the model.  I wish I had a picture of it but I cannot find my camera battery charger!

http://www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/south-gate-of-seoul,-korea-lesson-plan/

We learned a some Korean on this website: http://genkienglish.net/speakkorean/  They have some cute games here to practice simple Korean.  Here's a printable chart of the Korean alphabet as well:

http://freshkorean.com/2012/08/16/free-downloadable-and-printable-korean-alphabet-chart/

My daughter likes to make crafts, so this blog had an interesting idea about making a book of Korean numbers:http://blog.susangaylord.com/2007/05/korean-counting-book.html

I gave the kids a choice on whether to do a report on the Korean War, tae kwon do, or a famous Korean person.  I am interested in seeing what they decide to write on!  I think my son will write on the Korean War.

Finally, I came up with my own worksheets/notebook pages that the kids could fill out after reading our World Book Encyclopedia or researching on the internet.  My daughter also decided to make a Venn Diagram about the difference between North Korea and South Korea.

For some reason, the images didn't copy but you can download the clipart from Microsoft online.  Surprisingly, they have several clipart for Korea.

NORTH KOREA

Capital City:_______________________________­

Leader:____________________________________

Government:__________________________________________________________________________

Religion:  ___________________________________

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Economy:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Military:_____________________________________________________________________________

Facts:______________________________________ _________________________________________

                                                                                   

SOUTH KOREA

Capital City:_______________________________­

Leader:____________________________________

Government:__________________________________________________________________________

Religion:  ___________________________________

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Economy:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Military:_____________________________________________________________________________

Facts:______________________________________ _________________________________________

PLACES IN SOUTH KOREA:

Gyeongbok Palace

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Seoul Tower

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Links, Lapbooks, and Ideas for Japan Study

I found some great websites to use for studying Japan.

There is so much material that it is going to take 2 weeks to finish everything.  My kids are enjoying it!

I found this great lap book on Japan - http://lapbooklessons.com/JapanLapbook There are so many pages that I did not end up printing everything.  My daughter really enjoyed making this and she is still working on it.

For my son, he was really interested in Medieval Japan after reading The Master Puppeteer so we are working on a different lap book on Medieval Japan.

I used this link:  http://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/middle-ages-to-reform/medieval-japan/  This is a great website for lap book ideas, etc.  I have used it many times.

I also bought a video called Kids Animated History with Pipo.  It covers all the ancient civilizations.  Japan is included in that.  It is animated paper cuts and is very entertaining as well as educational.  My kids loved it.  You can actually watch these online here - http://www.yidio.com/show/kids-animated-history-with-pipo  However, since we do not have fast internet access, we bought the video instead.  I highly recommend it.

Antarctica Unit Study and Links

We are really enjoying our Eastern Hemisphere study for Sonlight this year.  The kids enjoy doing their research.  I give them a lot of freedom about what projects they want to do for each country.  For example, my daughter is really into animals and has been making animal fact cards or writing animal reports for each country.  For Antarctica, my son is going to research about explorers that went to Antarctica.  The notebook pages for Antarctica are a little sparse so I did some searching and found this great link:

http://diyhomeschooler.com/antarctica-a-mini-unit/

There are lessons, websites, activities, lap books, and note booking pages.

It looks like they have a lot of other great ideas for other unit studies, so I'll be sure to go to that website again.

Book for New Zealand study

We just read Red Sand, Blue Sky that was recommended by Sonlight for the New Zealand study for history.  My son wasn't crazy about it, so I looked up on Amazon an alternative.  We found a delightful book called Aroha's Grand Adventure by Angela Oliver.  It is a really cute story that features many of the animals that live in New Zealand. The kids loved it.  Very few stories like this anymore that are actually 300 pages long.

We also put whatever activity pages we do, maps, and crafts related to the country we are studying on our bulletin board for the week.

Window Kids and Reading Activities

Well, we are back to homeschooling again!  I found this great website:  windowkids.com

We use it to pray through the countries in the 10/40 window.  It makes this more fun and there are other activities on the website that the kids can do as well.

I'm trying to include more creative writing activities and projects to go with the novels that we are reading for school.   So far, my daughter has read Dumpling Days by Grace Lin, which naturally leads to a lot of interesting writing activities and projects on Taiwan.  This is not included with Sonlight but was a great book to include while we are learning about the Eastern Hemisphere.  Some examples of things we did were:  writing about our trips, writing a recipe, writing about the religious beliefs, practicing Chinese calligraphy and watercolor painting.

My son is reading Henry Reed, Inc. and I found this website that has some interesting ideas to go with that book.  http://www.emporia.edu/libsv/wawbookaward/winners/winner60-61.html

So, any new ideas that you want to use this homeschool year that you want to share?

Klutz Books

Klutz books are great.  They teach you all sorts of crafts and come in a neat package with a book.  We first got the Chicken Socks books which are Klutz books for little kids.  Hand Art, Melty Beads, and a book to make puppets entertained our kids for a long time.  They don't require much explanation and the kids can pick them up and teach themselves.

We bought a lot of others after that:  Paper Airplanes, Paper Dolls, Shrinky Dink Art, Lettering, Paper Stain Glass Art, and Pipe Cleaner Art.   Our favorite so far was "Beadlings" which you make little bead creatures.  I am afraid that was discontinued but you can still buy used ones on Amazon.

Playdough

My kids still love to play play dough even though they are going to sixth and fourth grade.  :)  This is a fun summer activity.

Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon oil
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Food coloring by drops

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a pan and stir.  Cook over low heat, stirring until a ball forms.

2. Add food coloring and mix thoroughly until desired color.

3. Cool on foil. Store in covered container.

This is an easier to make version of a playdough recipe, there is no cooking involved.

No-Cook Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup salt
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons oil
A few drops of food coloring

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients very well and store in plastic bag or covered jar.

This was taken from momswhothink.com

More Great Books For Kids

My son just recently read Brayden Rider:  Tales of a Medieval Boy by C.L. Barnett.  This is a new author from Northern Virginia.  He really loved it and said it was well written.  I am reading it right now.  It's rare to find books that you think will become classics.  He is planning to have sequels to this book. 



Another book that my daughter read recently was another in the Starlight Snowdog series called "Arctic Adventure" which is about a girl that found a magic dog that could transport her to the Arctic.  She becomes the leader of the Starlight snowdogs.


Another good book that my kids just read was "The Middle Moffat" by Eleanor Estes.  

Anyone found any good novels for kids?

End of WW I links

We finally finished studying WW I.  We ended with coloring maps of Europe before and after the war. I found good before and after maps on the following website.  I copied the maps and printed them.  We discussed the differences they saw in the two maps.
http://todayinsocialsciences.blogspot.com/2013/05/15052013.html

Then, I showed the interactive map on this website to the kids and we wrote some major terms of the Treaty of Versailles down.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/ir1/thetreatyrev1.shtml

The Spark

I just read the most amazing book recently. My husband actually recommended that I read it.  It is called "The Spark" by Kristine Barnett.  Her story is really incredible as she describes how she deals with having an autistic child.  Rather than letting that label discourage her and limit her son, she does everything she can to provide an environment where he can thrive and develop his gifts.  In the process, she helps many others like her son.

This book is really a must read. I do not have an autistic son.  However, he is very rule bound and schedule bound.  He has just a few passions in his life:  books, history, military strategy games, and Legos.  He loves facts and telling us about the historical facts that he has learned.  

Reading this book helped me to appreciate more the way God has uniquely created my son.

I hope you all can read this and be encouraged!  My son actually read this book himself and loved it.  

A Good Book and Movie for WWII

Although we are still not finished studying about WW1, I wanted to share with you two good things that have been helpful for us.  Watching historical movies and fiction really helps to make history come alive.

I recently bought a 4 American Girl movie DVD set.  Some of you guys may roll your eyes when you hear American Girl.  I was pleasantly surprised that my very boy boy enjoyed the movies.  "Kit" is about the Great Depression, "Samantha" is about the Victorian period, "Felicity" is about the Revolutionary War time, and "Molly" is about World War I.  Overall, they were pretty entertaining for the whole family to watch and I really liked seeing the period costumes and sets.  I highly recommend them and if you live nearby, feel free to borrow from me.  :)



A book I am reading out loud to the kids right now is "Eleanor Jo, The Farmer's Daughter".  This is another book by Eleanor Clark.  It's based on her life growing up in the WWII era.  What's really interesting is that she describes her life in a Texas town which made it all the more real for us, having spent part of our life in Texas.  We got this on Kindle.

Homeschooling blog to read and More Reading Books for Kids

I just recently found a homeschooling blog that seems very helpful.  You may want to read it.

halfahundredacrewood.com

They gather links and ideas for every weeks lessons.  They are doing the classical school method, but they had some helpful ideas for american history and world war 1, etc.  Plus, they have some free giveaway raffles from time to time!

I am always looking for books to read since it's hard to find quality books.

Here are some books that the kids have enjoyed on Kindle recently:

For 9 year olds and up
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (About a boy and his dogs)


Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

The Captain's Dog by Roland Smith (about Lewis and Clark expedition)

For kids who like animals:

Obi Gerbil on a Mission by Michael Delaney

Dog Diaries:Buddy by Kate Klimo (this is a whole series about different kinds of dogs written from their perspective)

Math in Focus

Well, after doing much researching on the internet, I decided to go with Math in Focus.  It's done by Houghton Mifflin but it is the Singapore Method. I really liked the look of the textbooks: very colorful, with lots of explanation and activities.  Each book has guided practice, practice, and tests.  Answers are in the back of the book.  I read that the teacher's manual isn't necessary.

The only catch is that it is quite expensive, but thanks to Ebay I got each book for around $10 to $15, which is great.  There are two textbooks per year and two workbooks per year, although I didn't see any workbooks for grades 6 and up.  There are extra practice books instead.  This curriculum is used in schools in the U.S. and it goes up to 8th grade.
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Another option I looked at was Primary Mathematics (Singapore Math) Standards edition.  The books have more practice and have a little more explanation than the U.S. edition.  It is slightly more expensive than the U.S. version but is less than Math in Focus.  However, it only goes to 6th grade, which is a disadvantage.

Bible Town Craft

My daughter loves to keep busy with projects and crafts.  When she saw this on pinterest, she told me she had to do it.  We probably won't make all the pieces or make them slowly.  Fun!

http://www.mylittlehouse.org/images/bible-paper-toys/bible-town