Category Archives: homeschooling

Our Version of Me-On-The-Map

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

I loved the idea of a Me-on-the-Map Project for my 5 year old, to help her understand the order and place of things, from herself to her house, street, town and so on, right up to the solar system.  Most … Continue reading →

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Posted in geography, homeschooling, kindergarten | 13 Comments

Teaching My Kindergartener to Read

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

Here’s what’s working for us.  The Word Wall.  It all started with Fancy Nancy. We started to make fancy word cards of the words my daughter could read. Then she took it and ran with it. She started making cards … Continue reading →

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Posted in homeschooling, kindergarten, learning to read | 19 Comments

Two Ways to Make a Comet

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

We’re learning about comets this week in our Astronomy curriculum so I thought it would be fun to make some.  These are really two separate projects. Do one or the other, or both. Project #1:  Make a model of a … Continue reading →

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Posted in Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, kindergarten, science | 11 Comments

Resources for Learning About Ancient Greece

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

We are gearing up to learn about ancient Greece over the next several weeks. I’ll be posting about the activities that we do, but thought that first I’d share the books and resources that we will be using. First, we … Continue reading →

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Posted in Ancient History, Early Elementary Years, hands-on history, History Odyssey, homeschooling, kindergarten, Story of the World | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Hey, Girl

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

First, there were the hilarious Hey, Girl craft photos. Then Dori at Cleveland Homeschooler started making the homeschool Hey, Girl series. Even funnier. Then Jenae, at I Can Teach My Child, came up with a contest. Submit a photo of … Continue reading →

Posted in homeschooling, humor | 2 Comments

Learning With Literature: The Mitten

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

The Mitten , by Jan Brett, provided us with wonderful learning opportunities and fun. First, we printed out  big paper mittens and animals from Jan Brett’s website.  We colored the front and back of the mittens, then hole punched around … Continue reading →

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Posted in Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, kindergarten, literature-based learning, preschool, science | Tagged | 7 Comments

Ancient Assyrian Activities

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

We are on Chapter 16 of The Story of the World, Volume 1: Ancient Times, where Assyria returns to power.  The king is Ashurbanipal and he conquers many cities, up and down the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, including the powerful … Continue reading →

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Posted in Ancient History, Early Elementary Years, History Odyssey, homeschooling, Learning with Legos, Story of the World | Tagged | 7 Comments

Creekside Astronomy: The Spiral Galaxy Experiment

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

This experiment is from Janice VanCleave’s 200 Gooey, Slippery, Slimy, Weird and Fun Experiments. We used this in conjunction with The Usborne Book of Astronomy and Space, With Internet Links. And learning to use the hole puncher and picking up tiny … Continue reading →

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Posted in Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, kindergarten, preschool, science | 10 Comments

Learning With Literature: The Snowy Day

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

 The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is a Caldecott winner and a Before-Five-In-a-Row selection.  And this year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of this wonderful book. Quite significant, is that it is the first children’s book to … Continue reading →

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Posted in books, F.I.A.R., homeschooling, keeping toddlers busy so you can actually educate your older children, kindergarten, learning to read, literature-based learning, preschool, winter | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Science, Math & Reading All in One

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

We just did a great little activity that my kids, from ages three to seven, loved.  It involved math, science and reading and it only cost me $1. I filled a pie pan with water for each of them and … Continue reading →

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Posted in creative play, Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, keeping toddlers busy so you can actually educate your older children, kindergarten, learning to read, math, preschool, science, toddlers | 16 Comments

Creekside Astronomy Unit: The Moon

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

We have had a great time learning  about the moon as we embarked on our Astronomy Unit recently.  We began with learning about the phases of the moon.  Using the diagram on the Moon Connection website, we learned about the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, kindergarten, science | Tagged | 5 Comments

Learning With Literature: Fancy Nancy

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

Welcome to our week with Fancy Nancy, one of my daughter’s favorite book characters. She loves to play dress-up, just like Nancy. The fancier, the better.  So naturally, we dressed up each day before delving into our Fancy Nancy books. … Continue reading →

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Posted in books, Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, kindergarten, learning to read, literature-based learning | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Phoenician Fashion

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

The Phoenicians used a certain type of snail from the sea, in a particularly stinky process, to extract minute amounts of purple dye.  The dye was used to color fabric, usually made into clothing for royalty, since the dye was … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient History, Early Elementary Years, History Odyssey, homeschooling, kindergarten, Story of the World | 6 Comments

Ancient Phoenician Boat Craft

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

Next up in our ancient history studies is Ancient Phoenicia (Chapter 15 in Story of the World, if you’re following along).  The ancient Phoenicians lived in Canaan, what is now modern day  Lebanon. They were accomplished traders for their time, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient History, Early Elementary Years, History Odyssey, homeschooling, kindergarten, Story of the World | 8 Comments

The Secret to Happy Kids (and Dogs, Too)

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

Want to know what makes my kids come alive, use all of their senses, stop fighting (for the most part), and work as a team to help each other with challenges?  It’s this: I so want to get outside every … Continue reading →

Posted in healthy living, homeschooling, Learning Spaces, life, nature, sanity | 12 Comments