Get To Know Your Community Social Studies Project

        The other day my kids and I went to the store and like always my son picks up one of the free pamphlets provided by the store and I let him take it, when we got home we sat down to do some school work, after we did that we read the pamphlet and actually learned a lot about the grocery store we got it from.

So my home schooling social studies idea is this when you go to the store pick up a free store pamphlet and read it cover to cover when you get home and you and your children will learn something about the stores you shop at and possibly more about the owners of the stores, then have the child do a project relevant to what you learned in the pamphlet drawl a picture right a short story etc get creative with it. This is a great social studies project

The one we read was all about how the store we go to recycles and uses recycled goods as well as how there store brand is a very healthy brand with no artificial stuff in it etc..

What a great opportunity to teach kids about recycling and why it is important to buy recycled goods, then you can do a recycling project in your home etc..

More Social Studies Project K-2 grades..

Chinese New Year Paper Lantern project, grade K

Banana Wheat Germ Muffin Recipe

BANANA WHEAT GERM MUFFINS

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. wheat germ
1/3 c. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. mashed banana (about 3 bananas)
1/2 c. milk1/4 c. oil1 egg
1/4 flax sead meal op

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Blend oil and sugar. Add milk, egg and banana. Mix dry ingredients together, then add to banana mixture. Bake in greased muffin tins at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
Yield 12.

Home Schooling

It is near the end of the school year and I hope you all did well, this was our first year we learned a lot and I was surprised at how fast children learn my son did not read when we started and now has been reading at a first grade level and getting better everyday. We learned so much and had fun despite some difficulties we have had in the past year.

I also learned a lot about being patient and becoming a good teacher to my kids. This next school year I plan on being more organized and stick to our schedule better as well as getting involved in more out of home activities.

We don't plan on stopping our educational activity for the summer however we will still be working in our workbooks and reading books.

I have gotten all of my sons first grade year curriculum already so we will be getting started on that as well. Most of all this summer we want to have lots of fun and do many things because everything is a learning experience there is always so many opportunities to learn and educate ourselves and that is the focus that is why I home school.

Look for my new posts I will be posting about some great activities that we do and you and family can do as well.

Thanks for reading!

Free Math Curriculum

   For Math we are using the Houghton Mifflin curriculum, the workbook is great and it is full of color and clear images the kids love.

This curriculum is very easy to use and we have the first grade one for the coming up school year.

The kindergarten one we did touched on everything a child need to learn in K and then we supplemented the learning with math blocks, counting cubes, pattern blocks etc you can get these at any school store and the kids love to use them.

And don't forget your kitchen is a great place for math aids. Baking is a great way to teach fractions using measuring cups and spoons and dry beans are always helpful for counting out math problems.

For pre school children teach more and less using cups of juice or water etc just get creative and you will see that math is all around us and every opportunity is a time for learning.

The post below has the link for the HM site were you can learn more about the curriculum choices they have.

Also check the FREE Printable Worksheet site for some great math worksheets.

I also love to go to The Dollar Tree store they have great workbooks and I have gotten many math workbooks there.

Check your local dollar store, Wall Mart, Target stores these are great places for workbooks and cheaper than a school store.

Spelling Curriculum

     For spelling we have been using Houghton Mifflin Spelling and Vocabulary workbook this is a first grade workbook and it has worked out great. The pages contain a step by step instruction which consist of reading the word, writing the words and fitting them into sentences, we do one page a day and then I give my son a oral quiz based on the spelling words provided in the workbook once a week he has a written test on the spelling words.

I think this particular curriculum is being discontinued but I am sure HM is replacing it with a new spelling curriculum and HM has many other great curriculum's to choose from, this is a CA standard curriculum.

The post before this has the EPS books curriculum which also assist the student with spelling and vocabulary.

Also check out my FREE Printable Worksheets link for spelling worksheets and activity.

Phonics Curriculum

EPS Books Curriculum. Primary Phonics and Explode The Code Workbooks.

We have used the EPS books curriculum, Primary Phonics and Explode the Code workbooks so I wanted to give you a review, we love them and my son did to these workbooks are easy to teach to your kids and very affective my son learned to read using these. We had both the Primary Phonics and Explode the Code workbooks and we did a page a day in each. The Primary Phonics comes with easy readers to read at specific points in the workbooks after words have been mastered this way they practice the words learned. You can start with the pre school and move up to the next as your child progresses, or start with the one pertaining to the grade of your child.

What do you recommend? Post your Favorite K-2 grade Phonics/Reading Curriculum..

The EPS Books company is a great curriculum for the phonics as I mentioned, they also have other curriculum you should look into I feel this is a great company with quality teachable product.