Geography State Focus-Arkansas

We're going on a trip and will be traveling through Arkansas. Might be fun to learn some facts about different states.

So let's start with Arkansas! From US 50 we can learn quite a bit about Arkansas.

Here is a lesson plan from Arkansas Geography Learning Through Map Analysis

Guitar Lessons Online

I've always loved music played on an acoustic guitar and I keep trying to learn how to play the guitar. Every year I make a little more progress.

Guitar Lessons

Guitar Masters Classics provides lessons by level. I'll be checking this site out more.

Time for music!
JulieDD

Writing Strategies

Today's proud moment: My son signed up to be a writer for an online writing website. Writing, teaching writing, learning writing and writing skills have been challenging over the years. I did find a program that worked for us. The reason it worked is because it broke down the difficult parts of writing into manageable and understandable methods and chunks of information. The presenter was entertaining and fun to listen to and he spoke about teaching writing. Ideally, I was supposed to listen/watch the videos and then incorporate the methods into the lessons but as it happened we all listened and worked on incorporating the material into our writings.

While this program worked for us it may not work for everyone. I think it is important to look for programs or strategies that work for you.

I do also have to note that I am not affiliated with the program I am about to suggest other than being a user of the program, which I purchased.

The program we found the most helpful for learning how to write was by the Institute of Excellence in Writing.

On the website you will find a great deal of helpful and free information to explore this program and see if it will work for you.

Other writing strategies to consider:

Teaching That Makes Sense has good practical ideas and approaches to teaching and learning how to write.

University at Buffalo offers writing strategies for K-12.

Happy homeschooling-learning and teaching.

JulieDD

Rocks in the Desert

Today I designate as random topic day. I asked my children for suggestions and my son volunteered, "Why do rocks move in the desert?" He then showed me a picture from the book he was reading which indeed showed the path a rock had moved in the desert. This was followed by a brief discussion about reasons why the rock may have moved. What do think caused the rock to move in the desert?

Found this site on Exploring the North American Deserts and Desert Environments and Geology

Another site geared towards learning about deserts is Desert Biome.

If you think you know the answer about the moving rock, leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.

Happy Homeschooling!
JulieDD

Humidity

The humidity is high and the air feels heavy...let's discuss humidity.

I found two resources on humidity for you.

The first is a tutorial on how humidity is expressed.

The second also contains information on humidity but includes links to learning activities.

Have fun!

JulieDD

End of the School Year

The end of the traditional school year is in sight. In a few more weeks those who are taking a summer vacation will be doing so. Others will be incorporating learning events into their summer activities. Others will be helping their children prepare for college or for going out into the world. May is a month of transitions. This time of year there are many things to consider. A few of these things are:

Resume
Job and/or College Applications
Curriculum for Next Year
Summer Vacation
Summer Studies
Summer Camps
Summer Fun and Activities
Summer Sports
Updating Transcripts
College Scholarships
Graduations
Dual Credit Programs
Summer School

And the list goes on and on...

I hope you have had an amazing school year and as you reflect upon your year and transition into summer let's take a look at a few homeschooling articles about summer.

Tips for Summer Travel with Homeschoolers

Exploring homeschooling with Summer School Fun

Unschooling Summer

Happy Homeschooling!
JulieDD

Procrastination Busters

One challenge many people face is procrastination. We seem to avoid the things that make us a little uncomfortable sometimes to the point of actually never doing the dreaded task. As a homeschooler, I have found this has been a consistent problem with math...day after day, year after year. So today I'm looking for procrastination busters, although the best success I had was the sign I made that said, NO Whining, NO Complaining, Just Do IT! It seemed to help me focus and actually get some things done. Oh and it helped the kids too...since I didn't whine or nag at them to do their work. I just pointed at the sign. lol

The Three Minute Coach offers Procrastination Busters and discusses the reasons we procrastinate.

Deanne Repich from Talent Develop takes a look at the downsides of procrastination and how we procrastinate.

SOLO and Working Smarter offer 5 suggestions for breaking the procrastination habit.

Have a great homeschooling day!
JulieDD

Experimenting with Gardening

Gardening is fun, entertaining, educational and outside. It also involves moving and doing and a sense of accomplishment. So gardening can be a great educational activity or adventure. Gardening can be done on a large scale(full size garden or flower bed) or small scale (a plant in a pot). What is also exciting is trying different techniques. Some are better suited to larger areas and some are perfect for those who can't garden traditionally. Give the following a try if you can.

Lasagna Gardening

More on Lasagna Gardens

Potato Bins

More on Potato bins.

Square Foot Gardening

Egyptian Pyramids

Today I needed to know when the pyramids were built. Do you know? I knew it was a long time ago. In fact they were built in approximately 2500-3000 BC.

To learn more about Egyptian Pyramids here are a few sites:

Explore the Pyramids with National Geographic

With Tour Egypt learn about pyramid construction.

Rules for Reading and Reading Rules!

Reading Rules! Reading takes education to a whole new level. Once a person begins to read it opens a door to ideas, concepts, stories, thoughts, humor, facts and more that have been discovered by others and shared via the written word. Reading Rules!

Pre-K Smarties has a list of rules of reading that often give beginning readers problems.

Hope you are having a great homeschool day!

Giving Speeches

Today my son is to present his final speech is his college speech class. He has been doing pretty good in the class but we've been working on his presentation. It has been a fun time filled with laughter and family unity. I gave him one goal with this speech and that was to make them laugh. The speech is written, he knows it but now he just has to have fun with it. Sometimes we have to stop worrying about the grade and just have fun.

For him and all those who struggle with giving speeches I offer you the following links:

From Dumb Little Man Tips for Life:10 Fail Proof Ideas for Delivering a Powerful Speech

More Tips from Fripp in Giving a Speech? 10 Tips for Public Speaking

In closing I want to share a story that someone shared with me on Facebook today and it has helped to keep our speech lesson light.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Hobos & Tramps, Cross-eyed mosquitoes &
bowlegged ants. I come before you, to stand behind you, to tell you a story I
know nothing about. One bright morning in the middle of the night two dead
fellows stood up to fight. They stood back to back, facing each other, drew
their swords and shot each other. If you don't believe my lie, it's true, ask
the blind man on the corner, he saw it too."

Summer Camps

Some of my fondest summer memories involve the anticipation and excitement of getting to go to summer camp. Then there are the memories from actually going to camp. For me, those were great memories too. :)

Today there are day camps, week camps, summer camps, scouting and 4-H camps, art camps, academic camps, computer camps and the list goes on. If you are considering sending your child to camp consider looking for a camp that focuses on what your child is interested in topically.

At Summer Camps you can search for camps by State, Country, topic, length of stay.

My Summer Camp and Kids Camps offer similar search options.

For the computer oriented kids, ID Tech Camps appear to offer a wide variety of camps.

Let's see I need a nature camp, a photography camp, a visual arts camp, a computer camp...and lots of money.

Naming Your Homeschool

Have you named your homeschool? Why would you want to name your homeschool? How do you pick a name?

We named our homeschool years ago. For a while when someone asked the kids where they went to school they remembered the name. However, there have been many times when they haven't remembered the name. Usually at the most embarrassing times as could be possible. Yet we have a name and there are good reasons to name your homeschool as well.

Why name your homeschool? Here are some good reasons from Rosegate Harbour.

Need ideas? At the Homeschool forum there is many suggestions.

Here are more ideas on naming your homeschool from A-Z Homeschooling.