5 Tips For The Best School Year Ever (from a Momma of 9)

**This post does contain some affiliate links which could possibly earn me a small commission if a purchase was made through them. These links help to support our blog and our family.

Every year that passes is another one that gives us more experience in life. I know that the past few years have really changed the way I look at things especially our homeschool. This year is going to be our best homeschool year ever because of the routines we have in place. Continue reading “5 Tips For The Best School Year Ever (from a Momma of 9)”

Speech Therapy At Home: Video Links You Need To Check Out

I have a couple of younger kiddos who have a little bit of trouble pronouncing a few different sounds as well as a special needs kiddo who can be quite hard to understand if you haven’t been around him for a while.

This is just a short list of links that I found to help us with our Speech Therapy at home. I’ll try to update this as we find more resources as well.

Fun Videos

Speech-Language Practice Fun for Kids: Let’s Go Fishing

Phonics Music Game for Kids: Multi-syllable Word Fun

Holiday Tree Calendar Game! Super Fun Speech Language Turn-Taking for Kids

Rhyming Fun with Elf on the Shelf! Holiday Toy!

Speech Practice and Talking Turns: Fun Tips with a Puppet


Links by letter sounds

B

Childrens Speech Learn letters P, B, M (by Patty Shukla)

Speech Therapy Techniques: Early Speech Sounds Articulation Drill /P B, M, N/ | PART 2

C

Speech Therapy – “C” Sounds – YakBack Sounds #11

My secret to teaching my toddler how to pronounce the “c” “g” & “k” sounds

D

Childrens Speech learn letters T, D, N and L (by Patty Shukla)

Speech Therapy – “D” Words – YakBack Sounds #5

F

Childrens Speech Learn letters F and V (by Patty Shukla)

Speech Therapy – “F” Sounds – YakBack Sounds #14

G

Speech therapy targeting k and g sounds

My secret to teaching my toddler how to pronounce the “c” “g” & “k” sounds

Speech Therapy – Words Ending In G – YakBack Sounds #34

H

Speech Therapy – “H” Sounds – YakBack Sounds #4

Speech Therapy – “H” Sounds – YakBack Sounds #7

J

How to Pronounce the English J sound /dʒ/ – Pronunciation Lesson

K

Speech therapy targeting k and g sounds

Produce a /k/ Sound with ARK’s Spoon Tip

Teaching k sound in isolation (fronting) | Pronunciation | Speech Therapy Tips

My secret to teaching my toddler how to pronounce the “c” “g” & “k” sounds

L

Childrens Speech learn letters T, D, N and L (by Patty Shukla)

Phonics Speech Practice: Digging for l Sound Treasures

Phonics with the L speech sound

Speech Therapy – “L” Words – YakBack Sounds #13

M

Childrens Speech Learn letters P, B, M (by Patty Shukla)

Speech Therapy Techniques: Early Speech Sounds Articulation Drill /P B, M, N/ | PART 2

N

Childrens Speech learn letters T, D, N and L (by Patty Shukla)

Speech Therapy Techniques: Early Speech Sounds Articulation Drill /P B, M, N/ | PART 2

P

Childrens Speech Learn letters P, B, M (by Patty Shukla)

Speech Therapy Techniques: Early Speech Sounds Articulation Drill /P B, M, N/ | PART 2

R

Tools for Teaching the R Sound by Peachie Speechie

Speech Therapy: Eureka Approach with the /r/ sound

S

Speech Therapy – “S” Sounds – YakBack Sounds #12

Discover Fun with Dinosaurs!

How to Say /s/ and /z/ (Frontal and Lateral Lisp)

Making a Snowman Snack using /s/ blend words!

Let’s Go Fishing for Final /SH/ Sound Words

Speech Therapy – S Blends – YakBack Sounds #67

T

Childrens Speech learn letters T, D, N and L (by Patty Shukla)

Making the “Th” Sound

Speech Therapy – “T” Sounds – YakBack Sounds #10

V

Childrens Speech Learn letters F and V (by Patty Shukla)

X

How to Do Speech Therapy with Toddlers at Home: X sounds

Y

Kids Speech, Learn English – Y words – Yak Back #85

Z

How to Say /s/ and /z/ (Frontal and Lateral Lisp)

 

 

Little House In The Big Woods Adventure Resource List

**Although I try to provide as many FREE resources as possible this post may contain affiliate links alt no extra cost to you. We may earn a small commission, if a purchase is made through these links, which helps to support our blog and our family. Thank you!

We read Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography before starting our study.

NOTE: My kiddos were 5, 6, 9, 11, and 15 at the time we created study unit. Some ideas may need to be changed/adjusted for older kids.

Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter or topic simply push the ‘ctrl’ and the ‘F’ button down together and a small bar will pop up. Type in the week number or chapter number you want and it will take you to it.


Introduction:

We have been using the Little House on the Prairie Books for our homeschool this year and my kids are loving it. I have scoured the internet for resources to make our learning experience as fun and exciting as possible. This series of posts is a compilation of different resources we have found and used in our home. Please note that some of these may have been FREE at the time I found them and prices and/or availability may have changed. Feel free to leave your own links in the comments section below.

I also want to take a moment to thank all of these wonderful people who put together so many wonderful resources for all of us to use with our children. I know that many hours, blood, sweat, and tears went into these projects but your work is greatly appreciated!


Answer Key found HERE**ANSWER KEY password: momsrock (highlight blank area)


Language Arts:

We will be completing this Lap Book project as we read through this book.

Reading:

We will be reading the noted selection for the week as well as discussing what we have read. I may come up with other questions as well. Kids are curious and I know we will have many questions which may lead to some research in other areas.

We will also be working on reading through a few books, see Kirby’s Kids Grade by Grade Homeschool Reading List , for each different grade level. The older kids will have some independent reading while the younger ones will have a mixture of read alouds, read alongs, and independent reading.

You should keep a record of the books read. You can do this in a notebook or using this printable HERE.

Handwriting:

I did not list handwriting in the weekly work tasks as my kids are using the Spencerian Penmanship for handwriting and will practice this every day.

Vocabulary:

We will be doing various activities for this area. We will be looking up definitions, matching words, putting the words in alphabetical order, and a variety of other activities.

Writing:

There will be a variety of creative writing ideas as well. I have tried to vary them and offer choices to help encourage writing. We will also be doing various writing assignments in some of other areas as well.

Check out PRINTABLE WRITING PAPER- TWENTY FREE TEMPLATES FOR KID’S WRITING for some FREE writing resources!

Other Activities:

These are just some of the other activities that I am incorporating into the lessons with my kiddos as we are all at different learning levels. I put these in here to keep me organized so I don’t ‘forget’ something.

I will add links to worksheets I find or make as we go through the unit. For a general guideline of skills your child should know by grade level click HERE.

I have pulled a lot of the material from the book for the worksheets listed down below.

Many of the ideas have been pulled from the following resources:

You can also find FREE Lessons with these links:

Other resources used:

The younger kids will also have access to various Read-Along books and puppet books. I will update links to those as we go along.


Math:

Many of the ideas have been pulled from the following resources:

Note about Ray’s Arithmetic Books: These can be a little confusing at first but the Parent/Teacher guide is so useful! I have found that the books are in order as follows:

  • 1st/2nd grades: Ray’s New Primary Arithmetic
  • 3rd/4th grades: Ray’s New Intellectual Math
  • 5th/6th grades: Ray’s Practical Arithmetic
  • 7th/8th grades: Ray’s Higher Arithmetic

I have used a lot of the examples from the book to create the worksheets you will find listed below. **ANSWER KEY password: momsrock (highlight blank area)

You can also find FREE Lessons with these links:


Social Studies:

Many of the ideas have been pulled from the following resources:

You can also find FREE Lessons with these links:


Science:

Many of the ideas have been pulled from the following resources:

You can also find FREE Lessons with these links:

  • We will also be studying different lessons from Mystery Science which is a site that the kids LOVE! We have found a lot of FREE lessons on this site. (You do need a membership to access all of the site.)
  • YouTube can be a great resource for educational videos.
  • Itsy Bitsy Bear Book via KidZone
  • We will also be studying different lessons from Mystery Science which is a site that the kids LOVE! We have found a lot of FREE lessons on this site.
  • FREE Zoology Lessons at Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool.
  • FREE Physics and Chemistry Lessons at Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool.

My kids also enjoyed reading:

 Bears on the Brain (Science Solves It!)


PE/Health & Safety Resources:

Many of the ideas have been pulled from the following resources:

You can also find FREE Lessons ideas with these links:

We often have some ‘Free Play’ outside whenever the weather allows as well.


Life Skills:

This area contains our lesson plans for a few different areas that I have included with our ‘Life Skills’. You will find lessons on cooking, cleaning, and organization as well as bible memory work and character training. All of these will go together to help raise our children into the responsible and caring citizens of tomorrow.

You can find a FREE printable log for keeping track of memory work here:

Many of the ideas have been pulled from the following resources:

You can also find FREE Lessons with these links:

We will be focusing on OBEDIENCE this unit. If you don’t have the book we used you can go HERE and download a lesson plan guide to use in your home.


Music, Arts & Crafts:

These lesson plans include Music, Arts, and Crafts. Choose one or two ideas/day as desired.

Many of the ideas have been pulled from the following resources:

You can also find FREE Lessons with these links:

We have also bought the following books/products for use with this series:


Remember: These are the lessons and activities that we used while doing this study but you can do anything your heart desires to make this a great adventure for you and your kids!

 

 

Special Holiday Meals: Frankenstein Day

*This post contains affiliate links, which help to support our blog and our family.

Frankenstein Day in honor of author Mary Wollenstone Shelley, who wrote the book Frankenstein. It is celebrated on August 30th. Click here to learn more about this holiday.

 Frankenstein Day Menu

Franks in a Blanket

Potato Fingers, Monster Salad

Beans w/Franks, Frank n’ Cheese w/sliced franks

Frankengate Salad

**Watch the movie, if you aren’t too scared.

Continue reading “Special Holiday Meals: Frankenstein Day”

Little House In The Big Woods Adventure Week 1 Lesson Plans

**Although I try to provide as many FREE resources as possible this post may contain affiliate links alt no extra cost to you. We may earn a small commission, if a purchase is made through these links, which helps to support our blog and our family. Thank you!

Mornings:

We Start every morning off with our prayers and the Pledge of Allegiance. Below is a picture of the prayers that we say and a video of the Pledge of Allegiance.

a4f356a8-2a6f-4280-abd7-33bce0719b96-4019-000000c2c1f8254c_file

Not the prettiest example but that’s what we’ve been using for the past few years.

Don’t have a flag? Grab one HEREand print it out to put up somewhere… you could even let the kids make a flag to proudly display. Amazon also has some little ones like this one HERE and HERE.

After this we have our calendar time also where we go over such things as the Days of the Week, the months, and some basic math.

d3cbca65-c096-4094-b421-827b79058cc5-4019-000000c2ec08e8e6_file

This one came from Lakeshore Learning.


Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter or topic simply push the ‘ctrl’ and the ‘F’ button down together and a small bar will pop up. Type in the week number or chapter number you want and it will take you to it.


Week 1: Chapters 1 & 2 (Little House in the Big Woods &  Winter Days and Winter Nights)

Here is our lesson plan for the week:


Language Arts

Print out this Lap Book project so that you can start filling in pages as you go!

Reading:

Read Chapters 1 & 2

  • You can read it or let the kids help to read it aloud.
  • You can also access an audio version:

Discussion Questions:

Chapter One:

  • How old do you think Laura was during this period? Why do you think this? (I guessed she was 5-7 but we will find out for sure in Chapter 5.)
  • Name something that made Laura feel safe? (Page 3)
  • Describe three different ways that the family preserved food for the winter. How did each family member help?
  • How do you dress for the winter?
  • Name two things that the girls enjoyed playing with? What would you like to play with?
  • What was Laura’s favorite time of the day and why?

Chapter Two:

  • Name two chores that the girls had to do.
  • What did they do after the chores were finished?
  • Describe the butter making process.

Additional Reading:

Each child would complete a reading lesson from our McGuffey Primer Books or other reading materials that we chose for the day.

Vocabulary:

Parents click HERE for the answer key.**see instructions at the top of the page.

Writing:**

We will be making a journal to record some of our pioneer adventures in. The link to the journal will be HERE.

Choose one prompt below:

  • Write a make believe newspaper article about Pa’s encounter with the panther.
  • Make a new ‘butter making song’ to sing while you work.

**Remember to use the thesaurus to come up with different words.

Other Activities:**

Older kids:

Younger Kids:


Math

You can work on a lesson in your Ray’s Arithmetic Books or other math workbook. (The lessons below reflect what we worked on.)

Group:

Rotate through these activities:

Click HERE to check for updates.

Older Kids:

 

Younger Kids:

  • Working on learning numbers 1-10.

 

 


Geography and History

 

1. State Study

  • Print out this map HERE or this one HERE. You can color in the states as you learn them and track Laura’s journeys.
  • This week we will study Wisconsin.
  • Complete your notebooking pages.
  • Older kids can write a report about the state.

2. Research Pioneer Life.

  • Discuss what you learned.
  • What would you take with you? (Remember it can only fit in a shoe box!)
  • Could you like like a pioneer?
  • What would be the hardest thing for you to give up? Why?
  • What would be the most fun? Why?

Science

1. Read about bears or watch a video about bears.

For the Little Ones:

2. Read about panthers or watch a video about panthers.

3. Research Microbes and Bacteria.

  • Discuss what you learned.
  • How do they affect us?

4. What is Density?

Bonus Lesson: Why did the fire burn different colors? (Parental supervision needed for some activities!)

  • Discuss what you learned.
  • Ask your parents if you can have a campfire and use these Cosmic Magical Flame packets to watch the flames change colors.


Life Skills

1. Research chores for Pioneer Children

Check out the 2nd video for some Pioneer skills you can learn.

  • Discuss what you learned.
  • How do their chores differ from yours?
  • What was Ma’s chore schedule? Do this activity to test your memory:

Ma’s Chore Schedule Activity Week 1

  • Little ones can use Ma’s chore schedule to learn the days of the week.

 Pioneer chores vs. Modern chores.

Laura was 4 years old when this book took place. How did her chores/responsibilities compare to yours? What chores can you help with around the house?

Watch this video of kids doing farm chores.

2. Ways to help around the house like Laura

Arise, Shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. — Isaiah 60:1

  • Making the Bed
    • We should get in the habit of making our beds every day because it helps us get a great start for a productive day!

3. Character/Manners

– Read ‘Six Ways to be Considerate to Adults’ p. 22 in Uncommon Courtesy For Kids: A Training Manual For Everyone

– Read ‘Uncommon Courtesy is considering the needs and feelings of others.’ p. 12 in Uncommon Courtesy For Kids: A Training Manual For Everyone

  • Laura interrupted Mary in the story. Was this wrong?
  • Discuss how important it is not to interrupt others and how it might make others feel when we interrupt them. (It can make others feel like you don’t think what they have to say is important or that you feel you are better than they are when you interrupt them.)
  • Come up with a way for children to let you know that they need to tell you something without interrupting. (They can gently place their hand on your hand or arm and wait until you finish.)

4. Memory Verse

  • Work on memorizing a verse during the week for a special prize.
    • He who answers before listening – that is his folly and shame. –– Proverbs 18:13 
  • Older kids can check out this Doodle Page via Verse Doodles.

5. Fun Activities

  • Plan a meal where you can use cracklings. They can be put into cornbread (or hoe cakes) for flavoring. You could substitute chopped bacon if cracklings are not available.
  • Bake bread see Salt-Rising Bread p. 75 in The Little House Cookbook
  • Bake cookies
  • Make butter. Click HERE for a recipe or watch the video below.
  • Write out the steps for making butter.
  • How does your butter compare to store bought butter?
  • See if you can get or borrow a sewing kit. Start practicing the sewing skills listed on pages 6-11 of My Little House Sewing Book.

6. Bonus Skills — Choose one or two to work on

  • Practice these until you finish this unit study and then we will move on to another new skill.
  • Memorize the books of the Bible:
  • Learn about archery which is a skill that has been around for thousands of years.
    • Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field and take me some venison. — Genesis 27:3
    • You will need a good book or DVD on archery.
    • You will also need a properly sized bow and arrows for practice.
    • Don’t forget a target and a backstop.
    • Learn the parts of the bow and what they do.
    • Learn the parts of an arrow and what they do.
    • Ask an adult to show you how to safely shoot your bow.
  • Learn the skill of baking homemade nutritious foods from scratch.
    • …It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God — Luke 4:4
    • You will need a good cook book.
    • Start with simple recipes.
    • Make sure you have all of the ingredients before you start.
    • Read through the entire recipe before you start.
    • Ask an adult to show you how to work the oven safely.
    • Start a recipe collection.

PE, Health & Safety

1. Stranger Danger

  • Practice what to do/say in different scenarios like:
    • Saying ‘Not my Mommy/Not my Daddy‘ if a stranger tries to grab you.
    • Kick, Fight, Bite, Make Noise if a stranger tries to grab you.
    • Have a secret family password for emergencies when you may need a ‘stranger’ to pick up your kids.
  • Discuss different ways a stranger may try to trick your child:
    • try to lure you into a vehicle saying that your  parent is sick and they were sent to pick you up
    • they may say they have something to show you and ask you to come with them
    • try to find out if you are home alone
    • may ask to come inside your home to use the phone
    • may ask for help to find a lost pet
  • Discuss ways to stay safe:
    • NEVER wander off without telling an adult where you are going
    • NEVER talk to strangers
    • NEVER accept items from a stranger
    • NEVER go with a stranger
    • NEVER tell a stranger you are home alone (or post about it on social media)
    • NEVER open a door to a stranger
    • DO find a safe place and tell someone what is happening
    • DO walk away from a stranger
    • DO call your parents or 911 if you do not feel safe

Be Smart Stay Safe: A Video Teaching Kids to Be Safe DVD Plus 3 Music CDs

Be Smart Stay Safe: A Video Teaching Kids to Be Safe DVD Plus 3 Music CDs

2. Games/Outdoor Play


Music, Arts & Crafts

Crafts:

Laura and Mary were excited to play with the hog’s bladder balloon. You can play with a balloon or blow up a paper bag and tie it off to represent a hog’s bladder balloon.

Art:**

  1. Draw a Brindle Bulldog (make sure to add the Brindle coloring.) Google images of Brindle Bulldogs
  2. Draw a picture of Jack Frost by Laura’s description.
  3. Pioneer life coloring page or this one
  4. Yankee Doodle Coloring Page

Music:

**BE SURE TO SAVE A FEW SAMPLES OF YOUR WORK FOR YOUR  PORTFOLIO!  TAKE PICTURES OF BIG PROJECTS!