I realize my blog is really neglected at the moment. It isn’t that I don’t want to write or that I don’t have anything about which to write. It might be that I don’t seem to be able to hold my eyelids open any longer by the time I get a blank page up on my blog late at night. It certainly isn’t that I don’t have any photos I need to upload.
We have all of the math wrap-ups. They make a great math tub activity. They are self-checking and all attached together, which makes losing parts of them virtually impossible.
Nonetheless. I want this to be a record, or rather a journal of sorts, of our pursuits in learning and just life in general.
I decided I would challenge myself to write 10 posts in 10 days. I make no promises, but what follows is my first installment: Hands-On School.
In addition to using as many hands-on resources as possible during our days learning at home, we also take advantage of opportunities to learn on the go. One particular Saturday in February, I had the privilege of taking our two younger sons, ages 11 and 8, to a science center for a STEM Engineering Day.
We learned about many things like how you can build a skyscraper with paper rolled up and cutting boards! It is quite interesting to imagine that rolled-up pieces of paper can actually hold up the weight of a cutting board. Mo’s skyscraper would have been taller, but he built it as far as he could reach. It was still standing when we walked away from the table!
After a delicious lunch together at Subway, we explored outer space, satellite images of familiar places, rocketry, robotics, and CB radio technology, specifically how it is used today for keeping people in rural places safe during storms. It was a fun, hands-on learning day with two of my guys! Even better, we did some “school” on a Saturday, and they loved it!
How about sautéing potatoes? Cooking is definitely a subject in our school! And yes, there are two pans of potatoes because one is just not enough for our large family!
Each night I have a different kitchen helper, and on Thursday my helper is Li’l Bro, who loves potatoes and loved these he helped make!
We pursue plenty of outdoor learning opportunities here as well. I realize this next activity is not feasible or advisable in a brick-and-mortar setting unless it is a sanctioned sport, which is actually not out-of-the-norm around here to have shooting sports, but anyway, our two eight-year-olds have thoroughly enjoyed their BB guns they got for Christmas from Grammy and Papa.
What about this game face?
They cannot wait until this summer and fall respectively, because they will start the on-line Hunter Education Safety Course for our state. The final, in-person test, which is a written exam and gun shooting test, can be taken on or after a child’s 10th birthday. They already have this date in their mental calendars. One of them in particular cannot wait to start hunting, and SHE might be a pretty good shot already.
While we do pursue plenty of life skills, we do work on our math and literacy skills too! I try to mix it up as some of my students are not exactly lovers of math. 😀 Like mother, like child.
These little gems—we have the addition and subtraction ones (and I so wish I would’ve bought the division and multiplication ones)— are something I found at a local dollar store years ago.
When you push in the buttons, it shows the answer. For the addition one, for example, you can push in the button that shows 1 + 2 and it will show 3 when pushed. The most beautiful part: No batteries and no light-up screens. SCORE! I also love that they easily show children the PATTERN of addition as they are laid out in order starting with 1 + 1 in the upper left-hand corner. They go all the way through the 12 facts which is an added bonus!
We use another hands-on math tool to change it up a bit for math addition drills. Who doesn’t love the Math Shark, especially when you find it at a liquidation store for $20? Li’l Miss loves it for a while, but she does like to get EVERY.SINGLE.ANSWER correct so it has to be used in moderation.
I had Li’l Dude adding the two dice in the box to another die he rolled on the table within a certain amount of time (or not). I was able to assess his mastery of certain math facts (or not), all while working on the skill of adding three or more numbers together. He picked up on the fact that it is beneficial to add certain ones together first then the other. It was definitely more appealing for him than a worksheet, though I admit to using those on occasion!
And not to be outdone, little sister, AKA Anna, had to have her own math manipulative. She figured out very quickly that it wasn’t as easy to balance as she originally thought! It kept her busy for a good 15 minutes, which is a success around here.
Speaking of Li’l Bit, I’m so glad I held onto the AquaDoodle mat. If you ever see one of these at a garage sale or anywhere for cheap, I HIGHLY recommend. Seriously, you can give it to a preschooler along with a paintbrush (forget the plastic writing thing it comes with–trust me–you have to refill it every 10 seconds) or you can use it for so much more!
Like a fun math center or word work or really, whatever! It is very hands-on and great for keeping their attention and the wheels turning!
One last thing I’ll share we’ve done the past few months is just to review the sight words and vowel blends. They know these, they are reading these with ease *most* of the time, but I just felt like some review in a hands-on, “this is fun!” kind of way would keep us well on our way to fluency and good comprehension skills in reading.
First, we pulled out our Jenga-inspired sight word game. If you have this game and you don’t use it, I HIGHLY recommend you repurpose for school.
Yes, it is loud, so I realize that sets parameters, but it totally keeps them engaged and you could write anything on the blocks that will fit. I would love to find a second-hand set to use for math equations as well!
They didn’t want to put the blocks away, so we built with them a few minutes and then read our words off quickly as we built with each block. Some other ideas I’ve thought of:
- Compound words
- Story Starters (list nouns, verbs, adjectives or some of each, then make a sentence or paragraph or story)
- Contractions
- Addition Facts
- Subtraction Facts
- Multiplication Facts
- Division Facts
We actually play the game in the traditional sense, but as we place blocks we say the word. For the ideas above, you could state the answer to the math question, state the contraction for the two words (e.g. write we will on the block and the students says we’ll), or choose some after the game is played to form words or write a sentence/paragraph/story!
We use different methods to review vowel blends, but one that always gets them thinking is our word work mats and magnetic letters! It is so easy to pull these out and just give them the space and time to think!
I hope to share in my next post TOMORROW about our sweet baby chicks. They are SO BIG now, and some of them are now living outside! Thanks for reading and PLEASE feel free to share how you use hands-on learning in your homeschool or classroom! I’d love to hear from you!!!
AND IF you’ve read this far and would like your own copy of the resource pictured above, which is available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, please just be the first to comment and ask. I will email you a unique link to download it, so please be sure to leave a valid email (which will NOT appear to anyone but me). 🙂
