Christmas is Coming, and We Can't Concentrate!
By Heather Idoni
Added Monday, December 07, 2009
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The Homeschooler's Notebook
Encouragement and Advice for Homeschool Families
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Vol. 10 No 88 December 7, 2009
ISSN: 1536-2035
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Copyright (c) 2009 - Heather Idoni, FamilyClassroom.net
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IN THIS ISSUE:
=================
Guest Article
-- Christmas Distractions!
Helpful Tip
-- Handprint Gift Ideas
Late Answer to Recent Question
-- Computer Literacy
Reader Question
-- Frustrated and Exhausted
Additional Notes
-- Newsletter Archives
-- Sponsorship Information
-- Reprint Information
-- Subscriber Information
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Guest Article
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Christmas is Coming, and We Can't Concentrate!
by Barbara Frank
---
Remember being in school the month before Christmas? How much
actual studying got done?
Not much, as I recall. Between the kids' excitement about
Christmas being just around the corner, and the teachers' need to
get kids ready for the pageants and programs they were expected to
participate in, little serious study was accomplished. (Not much
was accomplished the rest of the year, but that's another article!)
Teachers often resorted to filmstrips (some of you may remember
them) and worksheets related to Christmas. Not educational really,
but it was the only way they could cope with wound-up kids.
I thought that being homeschoolers meant we could escape all the
fuss and commotion and spend our time studying, with the added bonus
of having time to incorporate various Advent activities into our
daily plan.
Well... it worked like that at first. Back when the kids were little
and I was in full control of their schedules (ah, the good old days),
we kept it pretty simple. Other than the annual Sunday School
Christmas Program, with its practice sessions held at church, I was
able to keep things on an even keel and we stuck to our schedule
right up until the week before Christmas.
But we kept having kids, which meant more kids to shop for and wrap
presents for. And our aging parents handed off responsibility for
the Christmas celebrations to us, which meant big family gatherings
for which we had to prepare (planning, grocery shopping, decorating...
you know the drill).
As our kids got older, they started really getting into the festivities,
which meant they were pretty distractible. It's kind of hard to teach
someone how to divide decimals when they're dreaming of their wish
list and you're trying to decide between ham and turkey for Christmas
dinner. Neither of you is really paying attention.
We soldiered on, but I sure wish I'd had the Internet back then.
There are so many great free resources available now. I think if
I'd had the Internet, I would have just used Advent and Christmas
resources like the ones listed below to keep the kids busy until
Christmas, figuring there is always January for serious study.
I'm only homeschooling one now, and he's still a bit fuzzy about time,
so he doesn't know exactly when Christmas will be here. But once we
bring out the Christmas tree and decorations, he'll be distracted by
Christmas once again. I'd better get more toner for my printer so I
can give him some of these printables to keep him busy!
For Kids
Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar
http://printables4kids.com/printable-countdown-to-christmas-advent-calendar/
Audrey's Christmas Page (online storybooks, plays, coloring pages):
http://www.teacherhelp.org/chris.htm
Children's Ministry (lessons, worksheets, craft ideas, songs):
http://ministry-to-children.com/christmas-ideas
Christmas Coloring Pages:
http://calvarywilliamsport.com/christian_christmas_coloring_pages.html
More Christmas Learning Activities:
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/seasonalholidays/christmas/
Christmas Symbols Printables:
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/symbolsprint.htm
Twelve Days of Christmas Printables:
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/12daysprint.htm
Nativity Printables:
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/nativityprint.htm
Christmas Gift Tag Printables:
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/christmas_gift_tags_colour.htm
Christmas Notebooking Sheets and Coloring Sheets:
http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com/holidays/christmas.htm
Christmas Crafts for All Ages:
http://www.allfreecrafts.com/christmas/
Especially For Older Kids and Teens
Christmas Quizzes from the Bible:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/christmas/features/quizzes.html
Free 4-week Advent Bible Study:
http://www.jesuswalk.com/christmas-incarnation/
Christmas Crafts for Teens:
http://crafts.kaboose.com/teen-christmas-ornaments.html
Christmas Crossword Puzzles:
http://puzzles.about.com/od/themedcrosswords/qt/ChristmasXWord.htm
More Christmas Crossword Puzzles:
http://puzzles.about.com/od/themedcrosswords/qt/ChristmasXWord2.htm
---
Barbara Frank is the mother of four homeschooled-from-birth
children, ages 16-25, and a freelance writer/editor and former
newspaper reporter whose recent work has appeared in Focus on
the Family Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.
She's also the author of "The Imperfect Homeschooler's Guide to
Homeschooling" and "Life Prep for Homeschooled Teenagers". She
has a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
Barbara and her husband Tim publish books and curriculum for
homeschoolers via their company, Cardamom Publishers. They live
in southern Wisconsin with their two youngest teenage children.
You can find Barbara at http://www.barbarafrankonline.com
---
Do you have comments to share? Please do!
Send your emails to: mailto:heather@familyclassroom.net
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The Homeschooler's Notebook recommends...
A Great Christmas Gift!
Here's a gift that keeps coming all year. Wacky... but true, the
popular general knowledge magazine for kids, is now available online
for a LOW $15 per year. FREE comprehension sheets available with
each monthly issue. Sign up today for quality reading with a wacky
twist. NO ads, Christian values and good clean fun. View a sample
on the website. Produced by Michelle Down, who was homeschooled by
her Aussie parents in India. Give a gift to someone special this
Christmas! http://www.wackymag.com
---
Be sure to check out this wonderful magazine! We're doing an online
subscription for our boys (about $13.67 U.S.) - I know they'll LOVE
it! Here is an example of one of the amazing "wacky" facts:
"Dr. David Livingstone was a famous missionary and explorer in Africa.
He died in 1873 in Africa, far from his family or other white men.
The native villages took out his heart, then embalmed his body and
carried him to Bagamoyo where he was taken to England. He is buried
in Westminster Abbey, but his heart is buried in Africa."
Interesting information like this is just the key for my boys wanting
to delve deeper and learn more about a topic. As a matter of fact,
I know I'll be reading it myself from cover to cover! :-)
Find out more at http://www.wackymag.com
-- Heather
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Helpful Tip
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Handmade Handprint Gifts for Christmas
---
"My children have each made calendars where their handprints
were turned into a picture that pertained to the month. January
is 3 white handprints placed in different positions to create a
snowflake. February is 2 red handprints in the shape of a heart.
March is a handprint with brown fingers; the top half of the
palm is peach and the bottom half of the palm is green. Add
googly eyes and a face and it's a leprechaun. April is a white
handprint (without painting the thumb), keeping the 2nd and 3rd
fingers together and the 4th and 5th fingers together. Add the
googly eyes, whiskers, and some teeth and it's a bunny. Each
month also has a cute little poem. They are precious to me."
-- Kelly
---
"Jane, the handprints are such a precious idea! I brainstormed
a few ideas off the top of my head: Handmade pillowcases; napkins;
wall hangings; journals; photo albums; original artwork or poetry.
A bit more expensive, but very special are the plates, bowls, cups
and other items from www.makit.com." -- Mary Beth
---
"We also like to send a little of our girls to their godparents
and family at Christmas. One year we did photo calendars with a
different picture of the girls for each month. I had to think
this out ahead of time as I wanted the picture to reflect the
holiday of each month. Last year we had the girls put handprints
on plain trivets at our local 'paint-your-own-pottery' store. This
was easy and the receivers loved being able to have a conversation
piece to use and to remember the girls by.
This year (because I wanted to save money on shipping) I had them
paint a wooden ornament for everyone. We are sending them out in
the family Christmas cards, which also have a picture of the girls
in each. This saves me time and money as I only have to address
and send to each person once.
I wanted to add that we started an annual tradition of collecting
the girls' handprints on a white table cloth. Every year I have
them 'printed' and then we write their name next to their prints
and the year. I think this could be a great grandparents' gift
as well if grandma is willing to send it back to you each year for
an update. I know for us this table cloth will become a family
heirloom.
Another neat handprint idea is to have the child hold their hand
down on paper with fingers spread wide then use sturdy but flexible
wire and shape it around the outside of their hand to form a hand
print shape. Do this around twice and then take the ends of the
wire (which form the base of the hand) and anchor them to something
sturdy such as a rustic piece of wood (for a country look), a piece
of heavy metal (for a contemporary look) or even an old book (be
creative) for a studious look. Then place pictures of the child(ren)
in the ends of the finger parts of the wire (between the two wires).
This make a nice picture holder and can be tailored to each receiver's
decor." -- Rebecca D.
---
"Last year my mom made a project with our 4 children. She had each
child use a different color fabric paint to make handprints on a
large piece of plain cotton, then used green fabric paint to make
stems for these flowers. Then the older children made fingerprint
caterpillars (3 fingertips) and bees (1 fingerprint). She used a
fabric marker to add details such as wings and antennae. Then she
added a border and backing and quilted it for a unique and beautiful
wall hanging. It was a special gift, and the kids did a great job
of keeping the secret - though with the paint left around their
fingernails, I knew they had been up to something!"
---
Do you have an idea, experience, or tip to share? Please write!
Send to: mailto:HN-ideas@familyclassroom.net
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Late Answer to Recent Issue's Question
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Gayle's Computer Literacy Question:
"Does anyone know of any programs that we can use to teach our
Junior and Senior High children Excel, Power Point and other
common computer programs? Thank you."
---
"Gayle, I have created over 300 videos for learning how to use
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. These are step-by-step instructions
for all of the basic skills and many advanced ones:
http://www.moscertificationtraining.com
They are available FREE to your family."
David Kimball
Personal Financial Coach, Speaker, Author
http://www.household-budget-made-easy.com
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Last Issue's Reader Question
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"My daughter is 9 with ADHD and she keeps telling me everything
is too hard. She would be in third grade for public school this
year. I ask her how she got good grades in school if this is too
hard and she admitted to me that she copied off the other kids.
So we have started over with first grade stuff. I'm tired of the
fighting every day and her crying. What else can I do??"
-- Exhausted in Indiana
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Our Readers' Responses
=========================
"It's always a good idea to go back and try to find and fill
educational gaps in a situation like yours. If a child complains
something is too hard, I think you should take it seriously. Go
back as far as you need to find the place where she feels comfortable
doing the work, let her do a lot of practice to gain confidence,
and proceed from there slowly. Be sure to review until you are
sure that she has mastered the material.
I wouldn't tell her that she's doing 1st grade work. Just praise
her for learning and progressing at whatever pace is right for her.
I have children with learning disabilities, one with ADHD, and
temper tantrums can ruin everyone's school day. I can empathize.
My ADHD child tends to blow up rather than tell me that something's
not right. I'm always trying to find ways to minimize frustration
for my child and continue to be patient!
One book that I've found particularly helpful is 'Homeschooling the
Challenging Child' by Christine Field.
It's written by a homeschool mother with a child with ADHD. The
title turned me off at first, but the book is full of practical tips
and encouragement for those with children that learn differently."
-- Jennifer
---
"With our oldest daughter we think outside the box when teaching
her. If she needs to read and doesn't want to sit down and read a
book, we make sure she is reading things like street signs, cereal
boxes, recipes for her favorite foods and the such. Eventually she
realizes that she is reading and it is fun and makes up her own
reading games. We take the same approach to any other 'bumps' we
may encounter in her learning. She is a free spirited child and we
don't want to hamper her spirit by forcing her to learn the way we
were taught in public schools. She is very creative and needs to be
able to express herself in her work. This is how she relates to
learning. This approach works for us and in the end it's fun for
all of us." -- Rebecca
---
"Your daughter shouldn't be expected to work at her *age* level.
She needs to complete work at her *ability* level. That's the
beauty of homeschooling. There's no messing around placing all
the kids together to make teaching a group of children possible.
Your daughter gets the privilege of learning the things she needs
to know before she moves forward. She doesn't have to feel 'stupid'
because of this. My oldest daughter has learning difficulties and
she's had to learn not to compare herself to her slightly younger
twin sisters. They are all in the same grade and would be expected
to complete the same work in a school classroom. We have talked a
lot about her struggles and she recognizes that she needs to do
things differently in order to succeed. She has been doing very
well and has gained a sense of pride and accomplishment working
slowly through a math text that her sisters did several years ago.
She feels good when she finally 'gets it'. Regularly show her how
her hard work is paying off. Help her to see her small improvements.
It's encouraging to them when they can see their own progress on
things they couldn't understand before." -- Alisha
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Answer our NEW Question
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"I have a 9 year old daughter and 11 year old son. My daughter
is in speech for her 'r' and has always had difficulty in spelling
but is a fantastic reader. I was told it's because the words
don't sound right to her. My son is a very natural speller. We
started out using Abeka and it was WAY to difficult so I switched
to Sequential Spelling and have used that the last 2 years. The
words aren't soaking in with my daughter and my son doesn't seem
challenged. I've looked into Spelling Power and it seemed like
the same concept as Sequential Spelling. Any suggestions?" -- Alana
---
Do you have some advice or other input for Alana?
Please send your answer to: mailto:HN-answers@familyclassroom.net
=====================
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