Posts Tagged ‘Teens’

Book Review: Five Minute Tales

Posted in Homeschool Materials, Teens on June 21st, 2010 by HomeSchool Staff – 1 Comment

Five Minute Tales: More Stories to Read and Tell When Time is Short. By Margaret Read MacDonald

Every storyteller, whether a paid professional or someone who uses story as an addition to their primary job or activities, needs to have quick stories to tell in any situation. On the heels of her “Three Minute Tales” book, Margaret has gathered even more quick-to-tell stories from all over the world.

The stories are divided into nine loose categories such as “Origin Tales,” “Lessons to Be Learned,” and “Riddle Tales.” One of the most useful categories is “Tiny Tales” with stories that can be told in under a minute. Storytellers must always be ready to demonstrate their art form to others and these quick tales are great fillers to have in your repertoire.


Dr. MacDonald is one of the leaders in the classification and understanding of world tales, so one of her expanded comments regarding the type and origin of the story follows each tale. This provides excellent material for research for storytelling for teachers or storytelling in the education.

Margaret has written a number of “must have” books for the potential libraries of storytellers, public speakers and teachers of all types of groups. “Five Minute Tales,” too, will be a book you use often to fill in that “just right” space in your programs and presentations. -Storyteller.net Reviews

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Crafting Supplies for Homeschooled Kids

Posted in Organizing on June 19th, 2010 by HomeSchool Staff – 1 Comment
What crafting supplies work for kids?

The number one category  is paper. A good all-purpose assortment of papers include construction, drawing, cardstock and tissue.  

Construction paper comes in different thicknesses, or “weights,” from the thin dollar-store variety which works well for cut-and-paste to a heavier weight that is better for making greeting cards and stand-up figures. The most common size is 9″ by 12″, and many stores also carry 18″ by 24″ The paper comes in either pads or loose sheets. Construction paper’s color tends to fade over time, so look for “fade resistant” or “light stable”on the package for a project you wish to keep around for a while. If you will be attaching photos to this paper it should be “acid-free” and “lignin free” to prevent damage to those pictures. This is becoming increasingly easier to find.

White drawing  paper can be found in many varieties and prices, such as children’s or artist’s sketch pads, from the dollar- to the hobby store. It is available in different forms, such as loose sheets, pads, rolls and spiral-bound books. A ream of printer paper can be an inexpensive and plentiful supply of paper.

Cardstock is an immensely useful crafting item. It is thicker than paper but not as thick as cardboard, is easy to cut with scissors,  and will hold its shape well.  It comes in a variety of colors and surface textures. Use it for making patterns, stencils, cards, frames, cut-outs, etc.


Tissue paper has many crafting possibilities, such as collage, suncatchers, papier-mache, paper flowers, decoupage, and so on. It comes in many colors and designs, by the single-sheet or in quantity. Some tissue paper colors bleed, which means that when wetted by glue or water, the colors will run together. This can produce an artistic effect for your project, but if you need the colors to remain stable, look for paper that says “color-fast,” “non-bleeding”or “bleed-proof.”

This selection of paper will see you through many forms of crafting, but of course some projects require specialized papers. Handmade papers, newsprint, surfaces that are speckled, metallic, striped or printed, recycled, scrapbooking, giftwrap, cotton, wallpaper, wax paper- the list goes on forever!



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