My Cool HomeschoolHomeschooling Resources

 About half-way through the summer, when the initial thrill of summertime wears off, my children will come to me and say, “There’s nothing to do!” Now, deep down they know that’s a mistake, because they can always work on schoolwork – practicing their math facts, writing essays, etc. But because I love summer too, I give them a few fun options to choose from:

 1. Read a book by themselves, or read to their little brother.

 2. Make a wordless book. Draw the whole story – no words allowed.

3. Play with play dough. For less than $1 a can (off-brands are even cheaper), it’s an inexpensive way to entertain little ones.

4. Paint their faces (older children can paint their own if they have a mirror). Craft acrylics work well for face paint. Have the children put on old clothes (the paint doesn’t come out of clothing) and give them a couple of colors to choose from. Be sure not to paint around their eyes or mouth.

5.  Play in the sprinkler or hose.

6. Use the hose to make mud pies. Decorate the mud pies with twigs and flowers.

7. Play with bubbles outside. I like to use the large container of bubbles from Wal-Mart and flyswatters. Pour some of the bubbles into a bowl. Give each child a flyswatter to stick into the bubbles. As they wave the flyswatter around, hundreds of tiny bubbles will appear.

8. Make a robot. Use empty boxes, paper towel tubes, and toilet paper tubes. Pull out all of your craft supplies – markers, glue, popsicle sticks, sequins, paper, pom-poms, and see what the kids come up with.

If none of these ideas interest them, they could also:

9. Clean the bathroom.

10. Fold laundry.

11. Sweep outside.

12. Do the dishes.

With these options in the mix, they suddenly find something to do, and the summer fun continues.

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter Lillie came running in from playing outside.

“Mommy! Mommy!” she shouted. “It’s spring! It’s spring! I saw one of those yellow flowers in the front yard!”

It was still pretty chilly outside, but she was right — the daffodils were starting to bloom. It was a good reminder to pull out our nature journals.

We started working in our nature journals again last fall, then with the busyness of the holidays we tucked them away for a while. But new life in the spring presents the perfect opportunity for a fresh start. 

Fridays are our least busy day, so that’s when we set aside some time to go outside. If you’d like to start a nature journal, here are a few tips for getting started. 

SUPPLIES YOU’LL NEED:

Paper: An ordinary tablet, sketchbook, homemade journal, composition book, or spiral notebook 

 Pencils and erasers

Colored pencils or watercolors

Field guides of birds, snakes, lizards, mammals, rocks, trees, etc.

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR NATURE JOURNAL:

The date, time, place, and weather conditions

What you see, hear, or smell. You can try to identify the objects, plants, and animals and write about what you find.

Drawings in pencil, pen, colored pencils, or watercolors.

YOU MIGHT ALSO INCLUDE:

The scientific names and common names of specimens

Interesting facts about the specimens you find

Special poems, scriptures, or hymns

A brief description or story about what you’ve found

Pressed leaves or flowers 

Leaf rubbings

There aren’t any set rules to nature journaling — one child may want to include only butterflies, while another is interested in trees. Or, a child may want to include everything he finds. As you head outside with your child, though, be sure to take a notebook and pencil for yourself. You never know what you might find!

One day a week, I teach art lessons to homeschoolers at my kitchen table. In one of the classes, I have several little ones ages 5-6 working on projects at the same time. Even when copying a simple picture, these younger ones often get stuck, not knowing where to begin or how to continue. I’m usually bouncing back and forth between them, pointing out shapes and where they fit in.

For example, if a child was drawing a puppy, I might say, “Look, see this eye? It’s a circle, isn’t it? How many eyes does this puppy have? Let’s put two circles where the eyes would go.”

Sometimes, though, a young child might still be at a loss of what to do next. They want to draw, but they don’t know how to get the pencil going in the right direction. When that happens, I just have them connect the dots.  I outline the rest of the child’s picture in dots, placing them close to each other and without any letters or numbers beside them. If the dots are close enough together, even children as young as three can follow them with a pencil. It’s easy enough for them to do, helps improve their fine motor skills, and gives them a great sense of accomplishment for having “drawn” the picture.

While dot pictures have helped my art students in class, they’re great for preschoolers anytime!  You can create your own, even if you don’t feel comfortable drawing. Simply place a coloring page under a sheet of copy paper and “trace” the outline in dots. Children love to guess what the pictures are before they begin, and they can even color them in with crayons when they’re finished. And at some point along the way, these young students will become confident enough to move ahead with their drawings on their own.