Welcome back. I'm busy doing my homeschool planning for next year but I'll be here occasionally keeping you updated. You may find just what you came for and if you don't, then keep checking back!

As I’m making plans for teaching high school world history next year I will be putting together some lil’ helpers for my students.  And, of course, I’m planning on sharing them with my friends too!

Although this timeline can be used with any age/grade.  I have chosen to use the Annotated Mona Lisa as our art history spine which is appropriate for middle school through college.  The timeline is created specifically for this book, with the headings of each section so that the student can follow along in the book as he takes notes.

The main goal of this timeline is to have the student interacting with the book as he reads.  He is expected to write down the dates (they are not given on the timeline), take notes as he reads each section, and write the name of the artist under the example picture given plus any other artists he wants to remember from that time period.

Annotated Mona Lisa Timeline-Yr1

How I plan on awarding 1/2 credit of art history to my students:

1. I will expect them to read two sections a week and after wards fill out the above timeline.
2. They will color an appropriate picture from Art Masterpieces to Color: 60 Great Paintings from Botticelli to Picasso from the time period they are reading from.
3. With the remaining nine or so weeks left over they will be writing a report on a topic such as:  biography of an artist,  explanation of a specific art movement,  comparing and contrasting two artists or movements, the effects of art on society, how religion effected art
4. A final project will be expected to be worked on during the last semester consisting of one of the following:

• Powerpoint or other audio/visual presentation at least 3 1/2 minutes long
• Four minute expository speech with visuals
• Completed art piece in the style of the artist or genre that paper was written about
• Display board with pictures and new information besides what was in report
• Other approved project idea

In Florida I can award 1/2 credit  after approximately 60 hours have been dedicated to a subject.  This includes class time, lecture time, reading, preparing, writing, and delivering the project.   I have chosen these assignments while keeping this in mind.

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Each month I will post and answer some selective questions that I receive about homeschooling via my “Ask Brenda a Question” form in the sidebar of my blog.

I love getting comments from my bloggy readers and I really love getting questions from moms about homeschooling. After getting lots of private emails about homeschooling, I thought that it might benefit everyone if I posted the questions and answers right here on my blog.  I also added the form in the side column to make it easier to send the questions to me.

If you have any homeschool questions, feel free to ask!  I promise to get back to you as soon as I can.  Who know, you may even find your question posted in the next month’s – Ask Brenda.

Here is a question from Kate:

hi brenda!
you are amazing! i am wondering if you would be willing to share your list of historical movies? the one you talk about it your homeschool planner section…you mention a list of chronologically ordered movies…i am feeling overwhelmed by getting organized and am wondering if you could help.
thanks!
kate

Kate,

Let’s go to the movies! Where history meets Hollywood is a list of movies ordered chronologically that I have printed off, 3 hole punched and placed in my homeschool planner. I found this list online somewhere years ago and cannot find it again. (If you happen to know, would you mind letting me know so that I can credit it? Thanks.)

I use Netflix to find the movies on the list.  Then, I check the ratings and decide if we are going to watch them as a family or not.  I put them in my cue in chronological order so that I can easily pick them throughout the school year.

Brenda

Another question from a reader that remains anonymous:

I just read your article at Homeschool Classroom. We are in the process of going through our hordes of stuff and clearing out. There is so much we truly don’t need. I am wondering, however, if you have some new ideas on how to store all of those homeschool books. We are overrun with books and although I’ve given away a lot, I’m still short on places to stack/store and I’m out of places to put bookshelves. (We have four – one good-sized one, one small, and two minis). Thanks for your help and encouragement.

I’ve learned to think outside of the box a little when it comes to storing books.  We have so many history books that I had to put them in bins labeled by time period (ancient, middle ages/renaissance, early modern, late modern) for years before we bought more shelves.  We kept the bins in the garage, and each year I would get the next bin and return the previous year.

This kept my books organized and I was able to loan out a whole bin of books to a friend that was doing a particular time period.

A bloggy friend of mine, Angela, keeps them in her garage in filing cabinets.  She lets her little girl go to the “library” and pick books out weekly.  You can read more about her idea by visiting her blog, Homegrown Mom.

How about re-purposing something like the above t.v. stand from IKEA?  We use the t.v. stand for a bench at the end of our dining room table.  And, I keep our math books and manipulatives on this side of the shelf.

We have also used baskets that slide under our couch or coffee tables to house books.  And, I have added a basket to our bedroom with books that I read to the little ones before their nap time.  Keep thinking outside of the box and I’m sure you’ll come up with some handy ways of storing books.

Brenda

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Next year, I will have a 9th grader and we will begin the process of getting ready for college.  He already has an idea of what he would like to pursue which makes my job a little easier this first go-around.

I’m glad my guinea pig (first homeschooled child) is making it easy on me to help him.

I wanted to share a great site to start your high schooler at to prepare for the SAT’s.  It is Collegeboard.com.

Here, my son has signed up for daily SAT questions sent to his email address.  He has also done many practice questions in various subjects.  He will be moving on to the free practice test soon.

We have also ordered a copy of The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd edition, and plan on taking the practice tests in the book.  There is an official online SAT course should you choose to use this method.

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Each month I will post and answer some selective questions that I receive about homeschooling via my “Ask Brenda a Question” form in the sidebar of my blog.

I love getting comments from my bloggy readers and I really love getting questions from moms about homeschooling. After getting lots of private emails about homeschooling, I thought that it might benefit everyone if I posted the questions and answers right here on my blog.  I also added the form in the side column to make it easier to send the questions to me.

If you have any homeschool questions, feel free to ask!  I promise to get back to you as soon as I can.  Who know, you may even find your question posted in the next month’s – Ask Brenda.

Hi, I really like your blog! I’m a Family Home Daycare Provider and my hubby and I are waiting to adopt. My question is, what “science” activities should I try with toddlers/ Pre–K? Any other ideas/ activities I could do with toddlers/ preschoolers?

Thanks! Stacey

Dear Stacey,

Young children are naturally curious.  The best way to nurture their eagerness to explore is to be curious with them.  Ask questions and learn from hands-on experiences together.  Ideas will become concepts as children construct their own reality.

When my children are young I simply play with them around the house and in nature to build a foundation for scientific principles.  The principles of science are all around us.

• Which toys float or sink in a sink full of water? (density)
• What is the difference between Moon Sand and Playfoam? (viscosity)
• How can we get a bubble to last longer?  grow bigger? (chemistry)
• What do we find when we dig 1″ below the soil?  3″?  5″? (natural science)
• How long will it take to freeze popsicles? (crystalline structures)
• Why does a paper airplane fly straight or curved? (physics)

Play, play, play

As you can see the small sampling of play activities I mentioned is in the simplest form of a major branch of science or a scientific vocabulary word.

All the understandings that your child connects with at an early age helps them understand the harder concepts when they come along.

My two favorite pre-k resources that have taught me to encourage a child to explore scientific principles have been:

1. More Mudpies to Magnets: Science for Young Children
2. Janice VanCleave’s Big Book of Play and Find Out Science Projects (Janice VanCleave’s Science for Fun)

Some other things to do with children this age are:

Make and play with home-made playdough

Teaching with a toddler in tow

Muli-level schooling with little ones

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This week has been a little different then most, but aren’t they all?

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