Homeschool Theater

By helping your young child expand his vocabulary, you will boost his reading and writing skills. He needs a good vocabulary to decode and comprehend the words and sentences he is reading, and will be better able to communicate his thoughts and ideas for writing and speaking.

1. Talk with your preschooler whenever the opportunity arises.
Engage her in conversation about anything: the food you are cooking, the latest antics of the family dog, what both of you like about her favorite TV program.

2. Name everything.
Tell your child the names of the cooking utensils you are using, the animals in his Noah’s Ark toy set as you play together or the flowers you are looking at in the plant nursery

3. Read aloud to your child as often as you can.
Read the book your child chooses, but when it is your turn to pick the next book make it one she has not seen yet. Keep a stash of several books that have a few advanced words, such as “process,” “acknowledge” or “fledgling.”

4. Tell stories to your children. Bedtime is the traditional time for storytelling. However, you can tell a story while waiting in line at the bank, driving in the car (see this video) or whenever you have some moments of time to fill. Put in a few words that you do not think your child knows yet, such as in number 3. Be free with your descriptive words!

5. Categorize.
When your child talks about the neighbor’s cat, say “a cat is an animal.” Other examples would be “a pear is a fruit” or “a motorcycle is a vehicle.”

6. Add descriptive words. If your little one says, “look at the cat,” say back to him, “I see the black, long-haired cat.” The more often you use descriptive words in your speech, the more likely your child will also.

7. Ask probing questions about new discoveries.When your child finds a treasure such as a pretty rock, ask him questions about it. When she creates a drawing or receives a new toy, ask her to show it to you and describe it. Ask questions such as, “What do you do with it?” or “How would you like to display this?” This encourages your child to think about his answers. This reinforces his language learning.

These simple tips are some of the ways you can help your preschooler gain a larger vocabulary which in turn will benefit her communication, reading and writing skills.

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The author, Michelle B., writes about education, homeschooling, literacy and gardening in the desert. See our reading suggestion in in our Amazon bookstore.

Homeschool preschool activities do not have to be expensive. An excellent method for your preschooler to build fine-motor skills and strengthen eye-hand coordination is by playing with lacing cards. This type of activity also encourages focus and concentration on a task.

Lacing cards are available to buy where toys or teaching supplies are sold, but they are very easy to create your own. You probably have all the supplies at home already, so the cost involved is minimal. Another benefit of making your own lacing cards is that you can directly relate the subject matter to your child’s interests. Make a boot card for your little cowboy or a castle tower for the fairy-princess. You can make cards that fit what your child is learning about, such as Brachiosaurus for dinosaurs, a house for the letter “”H” or a character from a book you are currently reading together.

You need thin cardboard, such as the back of pads of paper, or cut from a food box, like a cereal box. Now you need an image. Either draw an object yourself on the cardboard or find a design online or in a child’s coloring book. If you print the picture out, draw on a piece of paper or tear a page from the coloring book, you can simply use spray-adhesive or water-thinned white glue to attach the paper to the cardboard, or copy with a pencil. The image needs to be simple. If there are many lines in the picture a good idea is to use a fine-point dark marker, like black or brown, to trace over the lacing lines. It is best to have the lacing lines close to the edge of the card so a paper punch will easily reach them. If not, trim the cardboard back, or cut around the image.

Next, determine where you will place the holes on the picture. You can mark lightly with a pencil where the holes will be. When you are satisfied, go ahead and paper-punch them.

The final step is preparing the lacing string. A shoelace is ideal, but a piece of string or yarn works just as well. Tie the string to the first hole. You can leave the strings free of the card, but an advantage to tying them on is that they won’t get lost. Lace the picture yourself to see how much string is needed, and add 6 to 9 extra inches. If you use a piece of yarn or string, to make it easier to lace either dip the lacing end in white glue and draw it through your fingers, then let dry, or wrap a piece of tape around the end.

You can begin with one or two lacing cards, or make a set all at once.

If you are pressed for time, there are a number of very nice lacing cards for sale at places such as Amazon. However, don’t be afraid to try your hand at making your own supplies for your homeschool curriculum.

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Michelle B. has been homeschooling for 20 years and continues to do so today. She writes about projects in gardening, education and literacy.

Especially for Dads: 7 Cheap or Inexpensive Ways to Spend Time with Your Little Kid

Yep, money is tight but that is not going to stop you from being a great dad. First off, since this isn’t 1950 any more, I don’t have to tell you how important it is for you to find time to spend being Dad with your kids and not at your kids, right? With that settled, here are some ways you can do several fun things with your kids that will cost you nothing or are otherwise very inexpensive.

1. Take a walk.
Go walking with your children around the block, around the park, around your back yard if you must. You will most likely need the exercise to get rid of your growing middle and your child needs to see something besides the TV or the back of your head while they ride in your car.

2. Go to the zoo (or something like that).
Get off the expensive and mind-numbing amusement-park daddy-go-round. There are affordable places (like museums and zoos) for you to go where your child can see new things, touch a turtle, make some pictures and hear a dinosaur’s roar or the like. This is a huge learning opportunity for your kid and most of these places are very affordable to visit. Super hint: many museums have monthly or weekly free-admission days. I know this will be hard for some dads who do not like to be in places like this. News flash: This is about your kids, not you and your boring man-world. With my kids now much older, I regret not having done more of this with them when they were little.

3. Eat in an interesting place.
Sure, the in-front-of-the-TV space has become the new kitchen table. Try having more meals at the dining room table. Then, get interesting and have a picnic. Make sandwiches, grab some chips and celery sticks and go sit somewhere to eat. The park or the tables outside the mall will work just fine. You are making memories here, dad. Warning: this is for your little kids. Do this outside the mall with pre-teens and you might die from the dirty looks they will give you.

4. Tell your kid a story. No books allowed.
Yep, put down that storybook and tell your kids some stories. Look your kid in the eye and tell them stories in your own way. You will bond with them and help them with their future literacy at the same time.

5. Do some full-body finger painting.
No little child can resist finger paint. On a warm day, grab some big pieces of paper, put out the cheap finger paints and go at the art-thing with your toddler. We found a roll of cheap paper at the teaching-supply shop and watched our kid paint up her body and roll about on the paper. Now we had huge art and great memories.

6. Wash your car.
Frankly, you could wash anything with rags and suds and your toddler or preschooler would be happy. Get out buckets, sponges, plenty of dish-soap and your grubby clothes and wash your car. Or a fence. Or your front door. Or your dog. Wet-laughing will ensue.

7. Make cookies.
In the old days, you had to know how to make cookie dough before you could bake cookies. If you know how to do make dough, that is all the better. Short of making dough, you can buy pre-made buckets of cookie dough at nearly any grocery store. Buy the dough and a few inexpensive candies or sprinkles and you have baking fun. When you are waiting out the baking times, do number 4 above.

There are many more ways to spend some inexpensive time with your kid. Your time shared with a child is more important than the money you spend in that time. Dive in now as they will be giant tweens before you know it. Then, you will need a new list.

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The author, Sean Buvala, has four children ranging in age from preteen to adult. He especially likes number four in this list (storytelling) as he is the author of the fatherhood training book, “DaddyTeller: How to be a Hero to Your Kids and Teach Them What’s Really Important by Telling Them One Simple Story at a Time.” You can get lots of free training videos and order the book at http://www.daddyteller.com. Or, follow his latest articles and vids from your perch at Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/daddyteller

Did you know that letting your preschoolers draw on the wall is a really good way to get them ready for writing? If done on a regular basis, activities worked on a vertical surface provide many advantages for them:

* Children gain strength in the back, shoulders and arms which increases stability for fine motor activities.
* The wrist is correctly positioned for pencil-holding, and grasping strength is enhanced.
* Good posture is developed.
* Finger dexterity is increased and fine motor flexibility and accuracy is developed.
* Eye-hand coordination is improved.
* Not only do these help build physical readiness for writing, but also for tasks such as using eating utensils, picking up small items such as coins, using art materials and even getting dressed!

So what are some activities preschoolers can do on vertical surfaces, if you don’t really want them drawing on the wall? Try these:

* Tape a large piece of paper to an outdoor wall or fence and supply large markers, crayons or paint and have your child make a mural. You can write large block letters to make a sign, such as “Welcome” or “Happy Birthday,” and ask your child to decorate it.
* Use a chalkboard or whiteboard.
* Children’s stand-up easels are excellent.
* Try a flannelboard, or make your own by attaching a large piece of felt to a piece of cardboard or plywood, or tacked on a bulletin board.
* The refrigerator is a great place to play with magnets, including magnetic letters. Try turning magazine or photo cut-outs into play magnets by adhering the paper onto cardstock, laminating or covering them with clear contact paper,and gluing on a magnet.
* On a warm day, give your kids a large paintbrush and a bucket half-full of water. Let them pretend to be house painters and paint the outside of the house or a fence.

* At bath time, let your child decorate the tub walls with shaving cream, bath soap-crayons or foam letters. When the bath is done, your preschooler can wipe his art off the wall with a clean sponge or rag.
* Give your preschooler a sheet of stickers and a piece of paper taped to the wall or clipped to an easel.
* Kids love painting on windows, such as sliding doors. Make sure they have washable window paint, or make your own by mixing powdered or liquid poster paint with clear dishwashing soap in approximately equal amounts. Be sure to spread newspaper on the floor beneath the window and cover the windowsill. Perhaps they can make holiday designs.
* Tack a piece of clear contact paper on the easel or bulletin board, sticky-side out. Let your child make a nature collage of feathers, leaves, seeds, flowers, etc. You can also use magazine cut-outs, torn strips of tissue papers or gift-wrap shapes. When your child is finished cover the art with another piece of contact paper, pressing it smooth.

Whenever you are preparing supplies for your child to create art or work on writing, take a moment to see if any part of this activity can be done vertically. The more often it is done, the stronger the results for your child.

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Michelle B. is a veteran of 20+ years of homeschooling. She likes affordable homeschool materials.

Young children are constantly engaged in learning about the grown-up world. Nearly everything they play is a reflection of their understanding of what happens in life.

Preschoolers love to pretend-play adult roles. One of the favored role-playing tasks is that of the mail carrier. Playing post office automatically opens up a variety of wonderful learning possibilities in the three R’s, as well. It offers practice in writing the letters in the alphabet, matching the name on an envelope with the name on the mail cubbie and beginning to read those names.

Be sure to write your child several short notes and mail them, too. She will no doubt come running to ask you to read them to her. She will try to do her own letter-writing.

Sorting and categorizing is a skill required in both reading and math, and this game will reinforce that skill. Your child will sort according to names on the cubbies, but you can also have your child sort by advertisements and personal letters, by size of the pieces of mail, or color, or symbol. How about gluing pictures of pets found in a pet store ad on the envelopes?

A shoe box is great for turning into a mailbox, as it has a removable lid for your little mailman to scoop out the letters. Whatever box you choose, cut a slot large enough for the mail to enter in the front or on top. It also needs either a lid or a folding flap. You can strengthen weak areas with duct tape, such as around the mail slot. See if your preschooler would like to decorate the box, but don’t force it if coloring is not her thing.

Your little mail carrier needs a place to deliver her letters. Make mail cubbies for each family member and the pets, too. Tape several empty boxes (such as cereal or cake mix) together, and cut off the opening flaps. Label each box with the person’s name in block letters. Don’t forget Fluffy or Rover! If you don’t want to use family members, you can use pictures of animals, colors, shapes, food items, etc glued to each cubbie.

Next helpful item is a mail bag. A shopping bag works very well, and most have handles long enough for a little guy to wear the bag from his shoulder. A grocery bag is okay, too!

Now, you need some mail. Hand over all your junk mail to your preschooler. You can buy a box of inexpensive envelopes and set it on the table along with stickers, colored pencils, pens, and paper. Let your preschooler get busy!

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Michelle B. is a home-schooling Mom who has been at it for more than 20 years. For more information about preschool, this book teaches you more preschool learning games. (Editor’s Note: This is a great activity for your child no matter what education choices you have made for them, homeschool or otherwise.)

Pour and Measure: Preschoolers Learning Math and Science Skills and Concepts Through Play
-by Michelle B.

When my second daughter was a preschooler between the ages of two and four, one of her favorite activities was measuring and pouring. She used my measuring cups and spoons so often I could never find them when I needed them! And she would pour everything possible, with of course the accompanying mess. I finally wised up and gave her a measuring set for her birthday. The first thing I bought was a new cat litter pan to hold the mess in. I had looked at a dishpan first, but it was too small. The litter pan was a good, working size. A trip to the discount store provided me with plastic measuring cups and spoons, one-cup and two-cup liquid measuring cups, a set of funnels,a turkey baster, a pitcher, a ladle, a set of plastic juice cups, plastic mixing bowls and a set of mixing spoons thrown in. Everything fit inside the litter pan.

All that was needed was the stuff to pour and stir! A zipper bag full of pinto beans and another of rice fit the bill nicely.

My daughter was delighted with her gift. We would take the set (minus the rice and beans) out to her wading pool which had a few inches of water in it, and we would measure and pour and stir and pretend and learn all afternoon. I would shake a few drops of food color in her pitcher and another color in a gallon water jug, and my daughter would have a great time measuring and mixing her secret potions. Sometimes she and her older sister would take the set out to the sandbox and pretend they were cooking, concentrating on the “correct” measuring to make the goodies turn out just right. The bathtub also made a great measuring playground.

When it was too hot to play outside (we live in the Arizona desert!) I would pull out the beans and rice and let my daughter experiment away on the kitchen floor. She would measure a cup of beans and then try to match that with the rice, concentrating on filling the cups and pouring carefully. Or she would see how many ¼ cups of rice it would take to make one cup. The pan kept the escaping beans to a minimum.

All this play introduced her to and helped her gain inquiry learning skills and concepts in measuring, estimating, eye-hand coordination, concentration, problem-solving, counting, one-to-one correspondence, fractions, creativity, fine-and gross-motor control and mathematical thinking. Her curiosity gave her many questions to investigate and answer. And she transferred her new pouring skills to helping me cook dinner!

Young children learn as readily as they eat and sleep, as it is a natural part of their lives. No one needs to tell them, “It’s time to learn now.” Watch your little ones and notice that nearly all of their play automatically involves learning. The measuring set served as a tool for my daughter to use to expand her understanding of her world and gain important learning skills.

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Michelle B. is a homeschooling mom in Arizona who has been teaching at home for more than 20 years. The child mentioned in this article is now 17 years old. That young person also does about 33% of the family cooking. Which involves a lot of pouring and measuring.

Creating a collage can be an excellent tool for a homeschool preschooler who needs to work on tearing or cutting skills. It creates focused attention and builds motor skills. It can be used for sorting and classifying if your child has to choose only, say, the square or green pieces out of an assortment. And for a hands-on learner, it’s just plain fun!

Your preschooler may enjoy the very tactile experience of creating a collage art piece . The homeschool materials you need are probably already in your home.

Give your child a background piece, which could be cardboard, thin plywood, a paper plate, canvas, or anything that can support objects glued to it.

A gluestick can be used if all the items are paper. Craft glue is best for thicker objects or fabric.

The materials can be paper, such as tissue, old magazines, ads, junk mail, expired coupons, napkins, candy wrappers, wrapping or scrapbook paper, you name it. Fabric bits, ribbon, buttons, beads, sequins, feathers, stickers, yarn, string, game pieces, tiny toys, etc.

A collage project can relate to anything your child is currently learning about:

–If your little one is learning colors, say, purple, go on a hunt through the house with your child in search of purple bits, and choose the ones that can be adhered to the board.

–Studying birds? How about feathers, nest-building pieces such as string or grass, seeds.

–Plants- leaves, flower petals, seed packets.

–Food groups- food wrappers, ads, dried corn, beans or rice.

–Textures- sandpaper, watercolor paper, foil, wax paper, tulle, burlap, fleece.

–For shapes, you can provide your child a variety of sizes of the shapes you have cut from different papers, or let an older preschooler cut them himself.

Magazines can provide a wealth of images for nearly any study topic.

Provide enough materials for your youngster to choose from to create her art piece, but not too many or she may be overwhelmed (and the clean-up will be too big!).

A collage work, whether to conclude a study topic or for the value and fun of creating, will lead your preschooler through exploring the process of art. And you get a wonderful art piece to boot!

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Michelle B. is a homeschooling mother who’s been at this homeschool curriculum for 20 years.