Top 10 Learning Activities

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Help For The New Homeschool Year

The highly recommended Courageous Homeschooling Handbook will reassure, support and encourage.

Buy With The Second Handbook In This Series:

The success of the first Handbook led to a demand for a practical guide that would show you exactly what works in other families because the responsibility of trying to work out how to homeschool can feel very daunting, especially when your child’s future is at stake.

The second Handbook covers the nitty gritty of how to homeschool like:

• What method will you use?
• How much structure do you need?
• What about a timetable?
• Which curriculum is best? (and do you need one?)

Top Ten Learning Activities For Kids

With the help of the 6,000 members of my Courageous Homeschooling Facebook support group, I've picked out the top 10 fun kids activities which make learning fun.

I had so many ideas to include that I have to admit you'll actually find the TOP THIRTEEN best ideas!

Let's start with everyone's favorite:

Lego

Lego is a one of those star activities which is both endlessly fun and vastly educational.

You will find links on this page to 70+ ideas for:

• Lego math learning activities
• Lego water color sorting
• Lego printables

and loads more!

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs have to be top of our list!  We have so many activities to share.  You could:

• Create a fabulous dinosaur scene
• Marble your own dinosaur egg
• Make a fossil
• Dig up a dinosaur
• Get a free dinosaur story writing sheet
• And you'll find lots of simple, easy to understand dinosaur facts for kids with loads of pictures on the highly recommended kids-dinosaurs.com web site. 
  

• There's also a fun Dinosaur Activity Pack to keep your kids happy.

Reading

I think Ange has said it all!  You can't beat a good book.

There is a fabulous list here of the best books for kindergarten with advice from fellow homeschoolers about what methods help their children learn.

If you are struggling teaching reading you'll know the question: "Can she read yet?" can be a tool others judge the 'success' of your homeschool by. So I asked the largest group of homeschool families ever brought together in one book to help out with ideas and suggestions, along with the reassurance that your child will get there in the end.

The great advantage of homeschooling is that you can go at the pace of your child and foster a love of reading that lasts a lifetime.

Science Experiments

The best way to enjoy science is lots of fun kids science experiments.

You can get our free e-book with our top ten experiments.  Why not:

• Make a homemade lava lamp
  
• Make your own blood
  
• Grow sugar crystals
• Dissect an owl pellet
  

You might also enjoy this site which has science activities where you can:

• Make your own thermometer
• Make your own butter
• Try out invisible ink

Minecraft

Could be that you struggle with the amount of time your child spends playing Minecraft!

But one way to relieve the parental anxt. is to see there are loads of learning opportunities.

I asked members of my Courageous Homeschooling support group to help out with suggestions.

The Great Fire of London

The Museum of London has created a free Minecraft Great Fire  of London, where you can build a detailed virtual model of 17th century London – and then burn it down.

Three maps cover London before the fire, the four days of the Great Fire itself and after the fire.

You can sign up to this site here (not an affiliate link).  N.B. You need a Minecraft account to use it.

Preschool Activities

From toddler cooks to playing make-believe, your child will love learning with you.

Here's 2 year old Catherine showing off our easy to make homeschooling Plains Indian feather headdress.

Which is where the toddler fun and games begin!

You'll find lots of simple ideas guaranteed to bring fun.

Robots

Making junk robots is one of those fabulous activities which gets you hunting round the trash can for bits you can turn into wheels, bodies and heads!

Making something move is a delight and the techniques are basically very simple.

Once you've learned a the basics you can go on to make all sorts of amazing creations of your own.

Instructables is another fun site if you're into DIY projects. Two of the projects that caught my eye were:

• Harry Potter wands
• Homemade space planetarium

Step-by-step how-tos with photos, on how to make all sorts of things. Brilliant for electronics projects, and for huge amounts of fun. 

Art

Really impressed with Google Arts and Culture where you can explore art collections and stories from around the world.

Go for a virtual tour of:

• Prambanan Temple (see photo)
• Sydney Opera House
• The Museum of Modern Art

Zoom in on particular pictures or the work of an artist you love. You'll find all the famous artists including Monet, Reubens, Vermeer....

Khan Academy

Fantastic free resources at the Khan Academy.

Make your own Board Game

The great advantage of being older is that you can be more adventurous!

Making games is a fabulous activity.

You'll see my children William and Catherine have both had great fun making their own Star Trek and Warriors Monopoly.

If you want a head start you'll see you can even start with a ready-made blank board game kit.

Need Support And Encouragement?

Are you are a new homeschooler or an old hand like me?

My highly recommended book Homeschool Secrets of Success with over 500 copies sold shows you the key to teaching your children at home: how to motivate your kids.

This guide shows you exactly what things you can do in your homeschool to get your kids happy and enthusiastic - and what not to do.

More info here....

If you're new to homeschooling or about to start again for another year would you like somewhere safe to ask questions and get help and encouragement?

The Courageous Homeschooling Facebook Group is a support group where we share the ups and downs of our homeschooling days and give each other encouragement and help.

There's an E-Pal exchange so your child can make E-Friends, we share the best resources and you can come along to our monthly Courageous Coffee Club where we chat together live.

The Best Ideas For The New Homeschool Year

Now is the time to plan what you'll be doing for the new homeschool year.

Packed full of inexpensive and unusual homeschooling ideas, this book covers every subject from Math to Science with learning activities which have taken my homeschool son all the way to Oxford University.

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You can also join us on the Awesome Group and share your favorite kids activities..

If you've got any ideas or suggestions about my website or this Newsletter, please get in touch.

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Best Wishes

Sonya

September Newsletter

Homeschool Math

Out 2nd Sunday in September

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