The Carnival of Homeschooling: Christmas Week Edition

Welcome to the Carnival of Homeschooling! It's a quiet week around here. Our Carnival is small but really, really packed with great articles and plenty of good reading material. Marie-Claire's post alone, the first one below, has links to 31 other articles!

I hope you have plenty of down time in the next week to read a few articles in between baking batches of sugar cookies and wrapping gifts.


Marie-Claire of Quick Start Homeschool shares a month's worth of articles in her 31 Days of Homeschooling Series, addressing all kinds of common homeschooling questions and providing tips and techniques from the trenches. This would be a fantastic resource for the new and potential homeschoolers in your life!

Sometimes in the midst of questioning if we are doing the right thing, it's great to remember why we are doing it! Sara Dennis of Classically Homeschooling lists 51 Reasons to Love Homeschooling.What a great reminder!

And kids have reasons, too! Kris of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers polled her Facebook audience, asking parents to ask their kids why they love being homeschooled and to report back with the answers. She compiled their replies into a blog post, resulting in the 50 Reasons Homeschooled Kids Love Being Homeschooled.

Do you have wigglers, kids who would rather bounce than curl up on the couch? A. Hermitt at Notes from a Homeschooling Mom shares her daughter's story and offers suggestions with Teaching Kids Who Can't Sit Still.

I hope we'd all agree with Michelle that every homeschool should encourage artistic creation. Here is a list of Art Supplies that Every Homeschool Should Have on The Heart of Michelle.

Judy of Contented at Home provides an awesome list of 100+ Free Preschool Printables. 

Sara Dennis discusses The Basics of Classical Education, with a great explanation of the three stages, at Classically Homeschooling.

I love this idea for a unit study, suggested by Judy of Contented at Home: Hymn Study for Homeschoolers. This series is designed to make hymn study easy and enjoyable for homeschooling families. Each unit includes all the tools you need to study the hymn: hymn history, lyrics, sheet music, recording of the hymn, copywork and notebooking pages, related Scripture to memorize, and vocabulary words taken from the hymn.

Heidi of Starts at Eight reviews CASHFLOW board game, a game that she says "makes for a fun and educational way to help teach your teens (and tweens) about the world of personal finance. It is like a cross between Life and Monopoly on steroids! Read more about it at Money Management for Teens with the CASHFLOW Board Game.

Alasandra of Alasandra's Homeschool Blog provides a review of the preschool book Have I Told You Today How Much I Love You? by Cheryl Sturm.

ChristineMM at The Thinking Mother shares notes from a book being released next month, The Teenage Brain, about the effects on the brain with so much digital living and video gaming that teens do today.

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my 100 Not-Boring Writing Prompts for Middle- and High Schoolers. If you have teens, you'll have all the writing topics you need for a long time!



That's it for this week's Carnival! Thanks to the Cates for organizing this fantastic resource each week and for all the bloggers for participating. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homeschooling using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page. 

It's the Carnival of Homeschooling!

Welcome to the Carnival of Homeschooling!

I'm glad you're visiting here at SmallWorld at Home. Let me introduce myself for those who are new here. We have just finished our 14th year of homeschooling and will have two high schoolers—our last freshman {gulp} and a senior {triple gulp} in the upcoming year. Our oldest son—who was homeschooled all the way through— just graduated magna cum laude from college. {And the question always is: what's he doing now? I'm happy to say that he is now working for an airline for two years so that he can have FREE flights. Like, everywhere in the world. His goal? See the world and then settle back down into graduate school. He is living the dream!}

But enough about me; you're here for the Carnival! We have a little something for everyone on this homeschooling journey with this carnival, from preschool to college. Grab a cup of something cold (it's really hot down here in the South, folks) and start reading!

• Summer vacation from homeschooling is wonderful! For about two weeks. Then comes the chaos, the restlessness, and the mess. Creating a schedule or a routine actually makes you more free because all of the necessary stuff gets done and then you can go play without any lingering guilt. Michele of Preschoolers and Peace shares how to Create a Summer Schedule for Peace, Productivity, and Purpose.

• And while you have a little more free time this summer,  Marie-Claire shares Quick Start Homeschool's  31 Days of Homeschooling Series that you can read through at your leisure or bookmark for later on. Lots of great stuff here for new homeschoolers!

• In Teaching Handwriting in Your Homeschool Preschool, Heather of Golden Reflections provides a detailed description of how basic handwriting skills develop in young children and then gives some fun, easy, and hands-on ideas on how to teach handwriting to preschoolers!

• Amy from A Journey of Purpose shares her little guy's perspective through the camera and with his commentary with Homeschool: View from a First Grader.

• With Homeschool Preschool PreK Curriculum Ideas, Lara of Lara's Place and a Cup of Grace shares a list of the books and curriculum she used for her PreK homeschool year. There are lots of ideas and suggestions to make learning fun for everyone! 

• Nicole has lots of great Money Saving and FREE Resources For Homeschoolers at her blog, Mama of Many Blessings.

• Franklin the Turtle was a favorite character in Heidi's house at Starts at Eight. She created free Franklin the Turtle Notebooking pages to go along with some of their favorite stories. These stories would make great summer reading along with some writing practice using the notebook pages.

• Have you ever wondered if you were partly to blame for your child struggling with math? Sam of Sam's Noggin says, "I had to raise my hand to that one, and I was right." She shares her failings in hopes that others can avoid them on How To Get Your Kids To Hate Math.

• And Michelle shares a tongue-in-cheek post full of suggestions for How to Get Your Kids To Hate Learning at The Holistic Homeschooler.

• Mary of Homegrown Learners suggests that when you narrow down your resources and don't fall victim to "shiny new curriculum syndrome," you are able to go deeper in your homeschool! She shares ways to Deepen Your Homeschool Through Simplification.

• Denise of Let's Play Math reviews the book  Playing With Math: Stories from Math Circles, Homeschoolers, and Passionate Teachers, a great resource for homeschooling parents, group leaders, and anyone interested in encouraging children's joy in learning.

• Since vampires have taken over bookshelves, television, and movies, why not explore the book that started it all? Susan shares Exploring the Classics with Dracula by Bram Stoker at Shelf Discoveries.

• And more classic literature: Carol of journey & destination shares a schedule and resources for covering Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare over nine weeks.

• At last I finished my series on What College Professors Wish Freshmen Knew? These posts stem from a fabulous panel of four local faculty members talking about their experiences with freshmen—and what makes them successful.

• And finally, our Carnival director, Henry Cate, shares a look into homeschooling with My sister's impressions of homeschooling.



That's it for this week's Carnival! Thanks to the Cates for organizing this fantastic resource each week and for all the bloggers for participating. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homeschooling using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

It's the Carnival of Homeschooling!

Welcome to the Carnival of Homeschooling! I'm glad you're visiting here at SmallWorld at Home. Let me introduce myself for those who are new here. I'm halfway through my 14th year of homeschooling, currently with an 8th grade son and an 11th grade daughter. Our oldest son—who was homeschooled all the way through— is finishing his senior year in college.

But enough about me; you're here for the Carnival! We have a little something for everyone on this homeschooling journey with this carnival, from kindergarten to college. And here in the South we actually some real snow this year, so I'm including lots of snowman photos from fellow local homeschoolers. For some of these kids, this was their first snowman-building experience. Just a few days after our big snow, we have daffodils starting to pop up. Such is life in the South.

I think we all love reading "Day in the Life" posts. Cynthia from Our Journey Westward shares A Typical Day in Our Charlotte Mason Homeschool.

In a similar vein, Blossom of North Laurel Home and School shares 5 Reasons I Love CM Education. She explains that it's "By no means an exhaustive list of reasons, but it's a good start for me."

Speaking of "Day in the Life" posts, be sure to check out the contributors over at Simple Homeschool! You can peek into the lives of nearly a dozen homeschooling families of varying ages and styles. And if that isn't enough for you, you can add your own post and read nearly 100 more on the yearly Day-in-the-Life link-up!

Sometimes homeschooling moms need a little comfort in the midst of our daily lives, right? Jamie of MomSCHOOL shares her recipe for Sugar Free Healthy Salted Caramel Mocha Creamer. What a treat!

Beef stew and beer bread! Just in time for March, Ticia has a unit study on Ireland and Saint Patrick with Around the World in 12 Dishes: Ireland Adventures in Mommydom posted at Adventures in Mommydom.

Exploring the family genealogy with kids is a great way for young people to learn about their history and understand the world. Kids love to hear about their own family history. Eva Varga shares her thoughts on Genealogy with Kids at Academia Celestia.

How do non- or emergent readers remember talking points for speeches? Pam Barnhill presents Presentation Notes for Non-Readers posted at everyday snapshots.

Celeste presents her second post in a series about homeschooling with little ones alongside in Schooling with Littles: Our Morning Basket posted at Joyous Lessons.

Laurie Bluedorn of Trivium Pursuit lists her Top 10 Favorite Read-Alouds — and warns that you'll have trouble finding them.  Sounds like a challenge!

Becki Hogan at Running With Team Hogan reviews one of her new favorite family games, Word on the Street. She says that with its little price tag, it's better than going to see a movie. And her six-year-old animal lover compiled his Resources for animal-lovers also!

Do relaxed homeschoolers have a bad reputation? Jen of Forever, For Always…No Matter What emphasizes in Relaxed Homeschool, Not Lazy Homeschool that while some may equate "relaxed" with "lazy" homeschooling, she looks as it as "Happy Mom Homeschooling."

If your homeschool feels strained, it could be that too much emphasis is being put on "next, next, next" and you haven’t sufficiently enjoyed "having achieved." Julie of my favorite writing resource, A Brave Writer's Life in Brief , muses on this process in It's not learning, it's having learned.

Becky Hogan says she loves to teach the kids things like grammar and art through fun books. She presents Parts of Speech: learning through fun books and Art Fraud Detective posted at Running With Team Hogan.

Winter is traditionally science fair season! Science fairs are great ways for kids to learn more about a topic and gain confidence in speaking. Find out how to set up a simple science fair for co-ops at Aspired Living!

It's never too early to get them ready for that science fair! Jamie of Online Education for Kids gives ideas for Teaching Kindergarten Science.

One of my favorite ways to teach science has always been through nature journaling. As Eva Varga says, "with intentional teaching of how to use a nature journal, children can walk away with life-skills that encourage scientific and aesthetic observations, creative and technical writing, perception and analysis, questioning, synthesis, focus, self-expression, and reflection." She gives tips for Keeping a Nature Journal: Getting Started in 5 Exercises at Academia Celestia.

And perfect in keeping with our snowman theme, Colleen Leonard presents The Physics of a Snow Day!! posted at Sola Gratia Mom. On the next snow day, think of all the learning that your kids can do! There is plenty to discuss about physics while playing.

Becki Hogan at Running With Team Hogan  has all kinds of ideas for science experiments!
• Making plasma in the microwave
• Testing acids and bases with red cabbage juice
• Making your own electromagnet
• Properties of light series



Janine of Why Homeschool writes about some of her recent experiences with the local public school in Homeschooling and my relationship with my neighborhood school.

Are you entering the high school years? We've got lots of good discussion in this week's carnival. First, Leah Courtney presents How In the World Do I Teach High School Math?!! posted at As We Walk Along the Road.

Shelly of There's No Place Like Home shares how she plans to approach an accredited diploma while still using an interest-led curriculum in her post Navigating the Red Tape Part 3: Our Path to an Accredited Diploma.

In Time Management for Teens, Heidi of Starts at Eight shares her method for helping her teen learn to manage her time. As she writes, "Entering high school has brought many changes about for my teenager. One of the big changes is the need for teaching time management for teens to her. It is an important life skill she will need not only in high school and college, but in the workplace and at home in her adult life."

So many homeschooling families send their teens to school because they are afraid that homeschooling will spoil their chances at college or university.  Annie Kate of Tea Time with Annie Kate reviews Setting the Records Straight by Lee Binz, a book that helps empower parents to homeschool their teens.

Here's more great help for high schoolers: Jamie of Let's Homeschool High School provides a Homeschooler's Guide to Teaching HighSchool Foreign Language. Fantastic information!

Speaking of college and teens, have you seen my series on What College Professors Wish Freshmen Knew? These posts stem from a fabulous panel of four local faculty members talking about their experiences with freshmen—and what makes them successful.

But what if your teen doesn't choose to go to college? Judy at Contented at Home discusses this in Preparing for a Career Without College.

That's it for this week's Carnival! Thanks for BHEA members for permission to use their awesome snowman pictures, in order of appearance: Karen M., Jen M., Karen D., Kate C., Amy R., my guys, Rebekah S., and Tae'lor J. Thanks to the Cates for organizing this fantastic resource each week and for all the bloggers for participating. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homeschooling using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

It's the Carnival of Homeschooling!

Welcome to the Carnival of Homeschooling! I'm glad you're visiting here at SmallWorld at Home. Let me introduce myself for those who are new here. I'm starting my 14th year of homeschooling, currently with an 8th grade son and an 11th grade daughter. Our oldest son is beginning his senior year in college. (And yes, he was homeschooled all the way through high school.)

But enough about me; you're here for the Carnival! We have a little something for everyone on this homeschooling journey with this carnival, from fun hands-on activities to thought-provoking posts about homeschooling issues. I've included a few photos from our recent "field trip" to France just because, um, I can. And also because we are trying to fix—in big steps and small steps— what I once called "My Biggest Homeschooling Mistake: Not Traveling More." Read on, and come back and visit!

Quintessentially French.

Mindy presents Starting the School Year with a BANG! posted at Homeschooling Articles, Freebies, Reviews and Giveaways.

As Julie Bogart of A Brave Writer's Life in Brief says, "The best curriculum is the one you use." Her article Less is more; less is more; less is more…  addresses curriculum choices and how to avoid frustration and keep focused.

Are you pondering schooling year 'round? Daniele of Domestic Serenity gives five reasons why homeschooling can work any time of the year in her post Why We're Switching to a Year-Around Homeschool Schedule.

For most of us, it's a new school year. Phyllis of Write the Vision provides thoughts on dealing with the stress of a new school year in Do You Feel Overwhelmed?

Kathy of Cornerstone Confessions says: "When starting to homeschool, I knew I wanted to teach my children in light of godly principles in the home environment. Little did I realize so many of the extra benefits of homeschooling until we were knee deep and loving it." She shares 10 Unexpected Benefits of Homeschooling.

Parisian gathering spot for writers and publishers: bliss!

Selena of Look! We're Learning! isn't afraid to give her kids the time they need to learn. In Why I'm Holding My Child Back This Year, she discusses the pressure homeschoolers feel to outperform their public school peers—and how she's doing what's best for her child.

Melissa at The Cork Board has a review of lapbooks that complement the Classical Conversations memory work. Head over for a chance to win a Cycle 2 package!

Looking for essentials for your homeschooling? Notes from a Homeschool Mom presents her Five Favorite Homeschool Books. You may want to add these to your collection!

Maureen of Spell Outloud shares what her preschooler did for a Preschool Fish Theme Unit—observing fish, creating fish puppets, fish sensory box and more

A view of Paris from the Notre Dame tower

Using a microscope can be intimidating! Ticia at Adventures in Mommydom has suggestions and quick rules for teaching your kids how to use a microscope with her Science Sunday: Learning How to Use a Microscope.

Homeschooling High School Science doesn't have to be intimidating.  There are so many resources out there to help!  In this post, Cindy of Our Journey Westward shares some of the things her family has done over the past couple of years to make high school science not only doable, but very successful.

Locks of love on the Seine. Paris is all about romance!

Is high school looming in your future? Kris of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers gives 5 Tips for Using 8th Grade as a High School Prep Year.

Mary of Homegrown Learners says that going from being a mom with children in traditional school to being a homeschool mom was a necessary priority shift in her life! In this article she details 10 Ways Homeschool Has Changed Me.

Mindy presents Getting Started posted at Homeschooling Articles, Freebies, Reviews and Giveaways.

Metaphysics for kids? Why not? Aadal of These Temporary Tents has an awesome lesson on philosophy with Kids Doing Philosophy Truth, Reality, and Dragons.

Terri of Round World Square Peg blogs about homeschooling with special needs and related issues. In You Should Homeschool Your Special Needs Child she discusses the benefits of bringing your special needs child home.

Flower market along the street—what could be more lovely?

And Marianne of Abundant Life agrees. In You Can Homeschool Your Dyslexic Child Successfully, she says, "over the past 18 years of homeschooling kids with dyslexia, I am convinced that it is not only doable but by far the best option for dyslexic kids."

Read what this formerly public-schooled gifted kid has to say about homeschooling in 10 Things I Love About Homeschooling: A Gifted Kid’s Perspective at Raising Lifelong Learners.

Have you seen all the school rooms over at iHomeschool Network? I could spend hours perusing all of these fabulous posts!

And last but certainly not least, from the Carnival of Homeschooling's own Henry and Janine Cate of Why Homeschool comes Preparing for a new school year, in which Janine shares some of the things she does in planning for another year of homeschooling.

That's it for this week's Carnival! Thanks to the Cates for organizing this fantastic resource each week and for all the bloggers for participating. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homeschooling using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

I'm Hosting the Next Carnival!

I'm hosting the next Carnival of Homeschooling here at SmallWorld at Home, and I want your posts! Don't talk yourself out of it, thinking that your blog post wouldn't interest others. Homeschoolers love to read about what is happening in the lives of other homeschoolers!

If you've never submitted, it is so easy. Just go to the blog carnival page and look for "submit an article" on the left sidebar. Just fill in the blanks from there! You don't have to write a new post just for the carnival. Look through your archives and pick something out. You can do it!

SmallWorld's WordSmithery Lesson 11: Advertising

The WordSmithery is back! Yes, I know it's been a year since my last lesson, and I apologize to those of you who have been waiting patiently. But let's get started!

If you are brand new here, I recommend that you go back and start at the beginning. My goal with the WordSmithery is to make creative writing exciting for writers of all ages. Here's what we've covered so far:

• #1: About and Journals
• #2: Introduction and Good Words
• #3: Powerful Words
• #4: Simile Rainbow Project
• #4: Similes
• #5: Metaphors and Strong Verbs
• #6: Alliteration and Spring Flower (or Fall Leaves) Poem
• #7: Writing About the Weather (Form Poem)
• #8: Form Poetry
• #9: Poetry Collage
  
• #10: Writing About Self

As always, this lesson is loosely scripted. You might eliminate some things or add others as you go. I try to put the "speaking" parts in regular type and the answers in italics. And remember: parents/teacher: you should be doing the assignments, too! Go back and read the first couple of lessons to find out why. Here we go! (This lesson is rather long. I'd recommend doing it in a couple of days rather than all at once.) I think you can download and print the whole WordSmithery Lesson 11 here on googledocs. If that doesn't work for you, you can copy and paste the lesson below into a Word doc for ease in teaching.

Before you begin this lesson, you will need to find examples of advertising in magazines, coupon flyers, etc. You can do a google image search for "magazine advertisements" and find all kinds of examples if you don't have any magazines at home.

You might also wish to preview TV ads on youtube and pick out a few appropriate ones for your kids to watch. This page lists the most popular TV commercials, but please preview before you show your kids!

Lesson 11: Advertising

Up to this point we have been concentrating on various tools that writers: metaphor, simile, strong verbs, exciting adjectives. Language and words are the building blocks for all writing. Any good writer of fiction or nonfiction knows how to use words—to make words do the work for them.

We are going to move now into writing nonfiction. We talked in the last lesson about different types of nonfiction like biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, newspaper articles, etc. Today we are going to talk about a special kind of creative writing that should be nonfiction but often borders on fiction!

Where can advertising can be found? (Allow for discussion: TV, radio, newspaper, magazines, internet, etc.) What about more subtle forms of advertising? (discuss things like t-shirts, backpacks, shopping bags, buses, cars, billboards)

• Do you enjoy TV commercials? What are you favorite TV commercials? Why? (allow for discussion) What about your least favorite TV commercial? Why? (allow for discussion)

• Do you like reading ads in magazines and newspapers? (discuss)

What about the ads that pop up on the computer when you are playing games (or Facebook for older students)? Are you ever tempted to click on them?

What is the purpose of advertising? (to sell something). Is everyone going to be attracted to the same kind of ad? (No. Briefly discuss how ads are targeted differently according to age groups, gender, etc.)

• What does poetry—words— have to do with advertising? (You have to get people to FEEL in order to want to buy.)

Advertisements that trigger an emotional response can grab an audience by the heart, hold their attention, and leave them with a warm and cozy feeling about the company, product or service. Warm feelings can translate into money.

This handout describes the different kinds of techniques used in the advertising world. (The link should take you to the handout in google docs. But here is another hand-out in case that one doesn't work for you.) Let’s go over these and see if you can find examples or think of examples. (Provide copies of magazine, newspaper, etc ads. Talk about what you see in them and how the techniques are used in them.) • Look particularly for words that might trigger an emotional response in the reader. (Together, make a list of those words in a journal or on your white board.)

The next lesson will include more about advertising. Until then, encourage your students to pay attention to the persuasive words and techniques used in advertising, especially to print ads.

Journal Writing

Day 1: Describe a food that you had today as if you were advertising it in a magazine geared toward parents.

(Example: Cheerios. What parent doesn’t want simply the best? )

Day 2: Describe the same food in Day 1 or choose a different one and describe it as if you were advertising it in a magazine geared toward kids.

(Example: Cheerios. Eat a bowl for breakfast and your mom will let you eat a treat later! And they taste great, too!)

Day 3: Describe a current TV or radio commercial that you really like or dislike. Be specific!

Day 4: Describe your dream vacation in a few short sentences.

(Example: My dream vacation would be a summertime tour through the UK and Germany. I’d like to visit castles, cathedrals, and every famous building. I would want a lot of money and my whole family with me.)

***************

I'd love to see what you're writing! Leave us a sample in the comments, or share your writing here. (Be sure to include which lesson you are sharing!)

Hope you enjoyed this week's WordSmithery! One more thing: if you are enjoying SmallWorld's WordSmithery, help me spread the word by copying the button below and putting it on your own blog post or your sidebar, and/or pin me on Pinterest! Thanks!

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Titanic Unit Study (revisited)

I first created a unit study about Titanic many years ago, when my oldest son was about 9 and his brother and sister just little ones. Eight or so years later, we revisited the Titanic, this time with my youngest son at age 10 (the oldest is now 18). Click here to see our original Titanic unit study. It's much longer and goes into more detail. We did an abbreviated version this time around, with our last two now in 4th and 8th grades.

TITANIC UNIT STUDY {Take 2}

Reading
There are absolutely dozens of what look to be excellent books written about the Titanic. Here is a list of 225 of them on amazon.com. Below are the ones that we read.
* The Titanic: Lost and Found (nonfiction, easy reader)
* You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Titanic! (nonfiction)
* Inside the Titanic (Giant Cutaway Book)
* Polar: The Titanic Bear. This is the true story--told from the POV of a stuffed bear--of one family's experience on the Titanic. This is such a wonderful story, with so many topics for discussion. Note especially the lifestyle of the rich and famous in the early 1900s.
Activity: Write a story from the POV of a favorite toy.
* Titanic: The Story of the Disaster in the Newspapers of the Day. This is a wonderful collection of newspaper articles dating from the launching of the Titanic through the sinking and its aftermath. It is very interesting to note, on the first several pages, how inaccurate the reports were. (This is a good time to discuss—briefly—how we can't always believe everything we read!)
* The Heroine of the Titanic. This is a fun story about Molly Brown.
* On Board the Titanic by Shelley Tanaka. This is a really excellent, comprehensive book about the disaster, told through the eyes of Jack Thayer, first class passenger, and Harold Bride, assistant telegraph operator.
* Titanicat by Marty Crisp. A true story about a ship cat and the boy she saved.
* The First and Final Voyage by Stephanie Peters. This is a short, graphic (as in comic book/text style) novel that my 10-year-old absolutely loved to read. I'm going to be looking for more historical novels by this publisher.
* Titanic by Martin Jenkins.
* Ghost Liners: Exploring the World's Greatest Lost Ships by Robert Ballard. Great book to finish off the unit. This explores not just the Titanic, but also other great ships that have been lost.

Movies
* National Geographic's Titanic: How It Really Sank. This was the best movie that we've seen about the Titanic disaster. Extremely engaging and informative. The kids loved it.
* Titanica: An Imax Presentation (95 min.)

Internet
* Eyewitness History: The Sinking of the Titanic. Read about the sinking from the perspective of a governess on board.
* Titanic Facts: True and Tragic
* Titanic: Hidden Expedition. This is a fun online game to find a treasure on Titanic.
* Encyclopedia Titanica. Loaded with information and stories.
* Discovery Channel's Last Mystery of the Titanic. Take a virtual dive, quizzes, hear video stories, and more.
* Escape the Titanic. My 10-year-old loved this game, although the premise of it is disturbing: As a third class passenger, the player is directed to "Escape from the sinking Titanic. Collect enough money to bribe the crew and get to the upper deck." Sigh.


Activities

• Family history: Make a family tree, going back as far as you wish. Be sure to write the surnames of your ancestors. Talk about whatever family history you know. Where did your ancestors come from originally? Point out the different countries on a map. Trace the route they may have taken over. Afterwards, search the passenger/crew list for names that belong to your child's family tree. The Encyclopedia Titanica has a fantastic list of all passengers and crew. We found our surname and a couple other names on our family tree. (You may like to find names of friends if you can't find any of your own family's names.) Talk about the names you've found. What class was the passenger in (first, second, steerage)? Where may they have been going? How might their lives have been changed after the disaster (particularly if one family member was lost and others survived).

* Class structure. Studying the Titanic provides a great avenue to discuss class structure. Ask your child if we still have a class structure today in the United States. He or she will most likely say "no." We launched into a long discussion about our own class system, ranging from homeless people to tycoons. We also briefly discussed the caste system of India.

* Science activity: Floating
Materials: 20 paper clips, foil, ruler, bucket of water
1. Have your child state why he believes heavy ships can float and what he thinks will happen with this experiment.
2. Cut two 12-inch squares from aluminum foil.
3. Wrap one of the metal squares around 10 paper clips and squeeze the foil into a tight ball.
4. Fold the four edges of the second aluminum square up to make a small one square pan.
5. Place 10 paper clips in the metal pan.
6. Set the metal pan on the water's surface in the bucket.
7. Place the metal ball on the water's surface.
8. Record what happens when in steps 6 and 7. The metal pan should float and the ball should sink. Have your child write an explanation of why this happened.
9. Discuss buoyancy and how it allows huge ships like the Titanic to float.
(At this point your kids will most likely want to test all kinds of different objects to see what floats and what sinks! Try to have them predict beforehand if an object will float or sink based on its density.)

* Lifeboat crisis:
• Discuss the issue of lifeboats and why they were such a factor in the number of people who died on the Titanic. Ask questions about what/who determined who got into the lifeboats.
• Figure out how many lifeboats there were on the ship and how many people each could hold.
• How many people would be without a lifeboat?
• How many lifeboats should there have been?
• How many people would be without a lifeboat

* Construct the Titanic! My 10-year-old wonderful model of the ship with black construction paper. He used about 8 sheets to make it about 3 feet long by taping the paper together. He cut out all the details around the outside of the ship and used a white gel pen, crayon, or chalk to make the windows, etc. Looks really great! A great book to read along with this is Inside the Titanic.

* Take an icy plunge! Fill a large mixing bowl with a lot of ice and add some cold water. When the water gets really, really cold, have your kids try keeping their hands in as long as possible. Discuss hypothermia.

* Visit the Titanic Museum! I know this is not an option for everyone, but if you are going on vacation to either Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN or Branson, MO, you have a fantastic opportunity to be immersed in all things Titanic. Here is my review of the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge.


Other Resources

• Titanic Lapbook by Hands of a Child. This looks fantastic! If you want to really delve into great detail, you might want to consider buying this!
• Titanic Unit Study on Homeschool Helper
• Titanic Coloring Book from Dover.
• Free Titanic Coloring Sheets.
• Dear America: Voyage on the Great Titanic and the Magic Treehouse Tonight on the Titanic and its nonfiction companion guide are books I would have liked my kids to read. My 13-year-old daughter, however, does not particularly like the Dear America books. She finds the diary style of the series to be repetitive and too formulaic. We loved the Magic Treehouse books a couple of years ago, but at 10, my son has lost interest in them. BUT if your kids enjoy these books, I think they could be a huge asset to studying Titanic.

The Titanic disaster still captivates people nearly 100 years later. Kids of all ages are fascinated by the ship, the people, and their stories. Whether you take a few days or a few weeks, I highly recommend taking some time to introduce your kids to this amazing slice of history.

The Carnival of Homeschooling

Welcome to the Carnival of Homeschooling! I'm glad you're visiting here at SmallWorld at Home. Let me introduce myself for those who are new here. I'm finishing up my 11th year of homeschooling, currently with a 4th grade son and an 8th grade daughter. Our oldest son is finishing his freshman year in college. (Want to know how that's going? Check out my Burying the Big Yellow Bus.) And yes, he was homeschooled all the way through high school.

But enough about me; you're here for the Carnival! We have a little something for everyone on this homeschooling journey with this carnival, from fun hands-on activities to thought-provoking posts about homeschooling issues. Read on, and come back and visit!


Hands-On

Participating in family projects can be such a wonderful way to learn! AnnieKate shares ideas for Frugal Seed Starting, Homeschool Style posted at Tea Time with Annie Kate.

Heather relates an incredibly fun and interactive day with Desert Photo Scavenger Hunt Hike posted at Marine Corps Nomads.

Alicia Arnold presents Encouraging a Sense of Play Builds Creativity Skills for Life posted at Daily Creativity.

Learn what happens when a homeschooling mom decides to take her oldest son on a business trip to Israel over spring break. This is hands-on homeschooling at its best! Alexandra shares Homeschooling in Another Country posted at Destinations, Dreams and Dogs.

Here's a fun, hands-on math game, described by Dena Wood of pjsallday.com: Marble Math ~ Beginning Addition and Subtraction.

A woman after my own heart, Amy @ Hope Is the Word is celebrating National Poetry Month with Cousins of Clouds: Elephant Poems by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer posted at Hope Is the Word.

Check out these terrific resources to live and learn about International Year of Chemistry, provided by Becky Rupp on Resources, Resources: Fizz, Bubble, Bang, and Ooze posted at PARENT AT THE HELM.


Figuring It Out

How can you tailor learning styles for right brainers and left brainers? Katie presents Right Brain, Right Brain, Left Brain, Left posted at Katie's Homeschool Cottage.

Mary writes that "at our house crying or being bored with something doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile or not working." Great thoughts on How do you know a curriculum isn't working for your child? posted at Winecup Christian Academy.

Misty provides a few ideas that helped her homeschool family get a handle on gaming, television, and media time with How to Get your Kids to do Their School – Part 2 – Media Time posted at Homeschool Bytes.

Mrs. White reminisces about her own childhood and suggest ways of Creating a 1950's- like Childhood posted at The Legacy of Home.

Lisa Nehring presents 7 Habits of Highly Effective Homeschoolers posted at Golden Grasses.


On Reading

In Classics posted at We Keep Choosing Us, Tori lists some of the books her family is reading, with comments on why these books and others of this sort are of value.

As Read Aloud Dad says, "History can be horrible. And the further back in time you go, the more horrible it becomes in some ways!" Check out Horrible Histories: Bloodcurdling Box of Books posted at Read Aloud Dad.

Kaye Swain of SandwichINK says she's a big believer in fun with reading, phonics and other educational activities for grandparents and grandchildren, and puts reading out loud to them at the top of her to-do list. Educational Grandkid Fun With Reading, Phonics, and Even Cool LEGO Architecture Sets! provides some of her favorite ways to get books and other reading resources.

Kathi Weiss discusses Reading, reading, Reading - Blogs - Parent Community and Forum posted at Parent Community and Forum.


Musings

At Evaluation Station Blog! Carleen Galiardo shares thoughts on her brief journey into the world of secular homeschooling in With Tears and Prayer.

When homeschooling parents divorce, their decision often affects other homeschooling families. Barbara Frank discusses Divorce Often Threatens Homeschooling Freedoms at Barbara Frank Online.

Susan Ryan of Corn and Oil presents Signs of Spring in Illinois.

And finally, Henry Cate, Carnival Director, wonders if a recent bill for a distorted view of history will push more parents to homeschool on Why Homeschool.

That's it for this week's Carnival! Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homeschooling using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. Next week's Carnival will be hosted at Corn and Oil. Don't miss it!

National Poetry Month: Poetry Pictures

I love that National Poetry Month comes in April. This year I've been determined to explore poetry more with my kids during this month of celebration. I got out a stack of poetry books last week (above). This is by no means all my poetry books, but some of the books are just not kid-appropriate, and some I couldn't find. I try to keep all my poetry books on one shelf, but that doesn't always work…

I was inspired by this post at Making Books Blog to make that type of poetry collage, but kids do have minds of their own. We started with a basic theme of "spring" and started plowing through poetry books. We all read aloud whatever poems appealed to us, and then we picked a poem each to make into a picture.

Laurel chose this Shel Silverstein poem, "The Oak and the Rose."

I chose "Violets" by Valerie Worth. It was Laurel's idea to add real violets.

Duncan chose "The Man in the Onion Bed" by John Ciardi. He added a special scratch-and-sniff feature with wild onions from the yard.

If you'd like to try some creative writing with your kids and don't know where to start, take a look at my WordSmithery. I recommend starting from the beginning, but here is a fun activity for spring flowers poetry.

Making Grammar Relevant with Facebook Faux Pas

My writing students have always enjoyed proofreading with the Daily Paragraph Editing books. My daughter joined the Facebook craze on her 13th birthday, and one of my conditions was that she use correct grammar and spelling. She's been great about it, and I was tickled (and a little chagrined) one day to see that she'd corrected her friend's spelling on a status. So I thought: why not make daily status editing exercises for my daughter?

I did a quick scan of my Facebook friends and came up with a great list. This is just one day's collection, and I'm sure I'll never run out of examples! If you'd like a change from your regular editing exercises or just to add a little variety to your grammar program, feel free to start with these and then find some more on your own. Trust me, it's easy!

(Here's a link to common proofreaders' marks if you don't have that handy.)

You can buy this assignment on Teachers Pay Teachers for just $1!


Making Grammar Relevant: Facebook Faux Pas

In many ways, your Facebook page reflects who you are. You choose your friends, join groups, accept “Flair” and bumper stickers, add your lists of “likes,” and more. You also set our own status and make your own comments. You make the choice: will you take the time to use correct grammar and spelling, or will you take the easy way out?

Directions: Each of these “sentences” below comes from an actual Facebook group or status. Your assignment is to correct these sentences. Look for errors in grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and more. Write the corrected sentence under the original.

1. almost done with homework then babysitting the adorable riley boys then church then hopefully going to eat at burger king!
2. Thank you SO Much for the Happy Birthday wishes, it makes my day a little more special. I have some great friends and an amazing Family!
3. Life isn't about Worrying. Thats a waste of time.
4. I wish you werent so far away so i could share all my happiness with you.
5. I sprang my knee n i cant get up!
6. I hate my english teacher seriously shes an idiot
7. I do believe he would have ran all morning if I did not stop him.
8. Sorry I never texted you back, I had dinner then my phone died
9. dont know my friends address but I know exactly where theyre house is!
10. We get wear jeans tomarow but not sneakers, what's the point of wearing jeans then?
11. i can’t talk to you anymore, its not that I a mad at you, it’s just that when I talk to you I realize how much I love you and when I realize how much I love you, I realize I can’t have you and that makes me love you even more.
12. I love going to a concert and loosing your voice the next day.
13. The same person who laughs, talks a lot and seems happy, may also be the person who cry’s themselves to sleep.
14. please don;t be evil, its not very nice you know.
15. i just cleaned out the friends list if your still here your lucky.
16. i have 3 tests this week two of which are tomorrow I hate this week already.


Answer Key
Note: These are suggested corrections. There will be more than one way that a student could correct each sentence.
1. I am almost done with homework. Later I’ll be babysitting the adorable Riley boys, heading to church, and then hopefully going to eat at Burger King.
2. Thank you so much for the birthday wishes. It made my day a little more special. I have some great friends and an amazing family!
3. Life isn’t about worrying. That’s a waste of time.
4. I wish you weren’t so far away, so I could share all my happiness with you.
5. I sprained my knee, and I can’t get up!
6. I hate my English teacher. Seriously, she’s an idiot.
(Better yet: I love my English teacher. She’s brilliant.)
7. I do believe he would have run all morning if I did not stop him.
8. I’m sorry that I never texted you back; I had dinner, and then my phone died.
(Even better: I’m sorry that I didn’t return your text message. I had dinner, and then my phone died.)
9. I don’t know my friends’ addresses, but I know exactly where their houses are!
10. We get to wear jeans tomorrow but not sneakers. What’s the point of wearing jeans at all?
11. I can’t talk to you anymore. It’s not that I am mad at you; it’s just that when I talk to you, I realize how much I love you. When I realize how much I love you, I realize I can’t have you. That makes me love you even more.
12. I love going to a concert and losing my voice the next day.
13. The same person who laughs, talks a lot, and seems happy, may also be the person who cries herself to sleep.
14. Please don’t be evil; it’s not very nice.
15. I just cleaned out my friends list. If you’re still here, you’re lucky.
16. I have three tests this week, two of which are tomorrow. I hate this week already.

© Sarah Small, 2010.