What is Homeschool Mosaics and Why Am I Writing About It?

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it here, but I have the great privilege of being a writer for the blog Homeschool Mosaics. All of the wonderful women who make Homeschool Mosaics possible and write for the blog are homeschooling moms. We all bring our unique talents, perspectives and experiences to the blog and share once or twice a month in a personal column. Not only are they a great group of ladies, whom I am privileged to call friends, the collective wisdom is phenomenal.

Each month, usually on the 22nd, I write a column on budget/ frugal homeschooling. Today my column for July is posted and I share some local and state freebies which have been useful for my family. I would invite you to take a peek.

Also while you are at Homeschool Mosaics, click on the Giveaway tab to learn about this months great giveaway. A pedal car from BERG Toys! This looks like a wonderful exploration vehicle. Check it out for yourself.

Since my post on Homeschool Mosaics is monthly, I try to focus on a different theme each time. I would be interested in learning if any of my personal blog readers have any ideas frugal or budget homeschooling they would like to read about. Feel free to leave me a comment.

Home Made Air Show

Yesterday, the 4th of July, my son heard about an air show occurring in our area later in the day. 

He really wanted to go, but due to the extreme heat, (over 100 degrees) that just wasn't a safe activity.

So he disappeared into his room. I figured he went there to sulk. No, he was being productive. 

I found out later he was making his own paper airplanes. 

Not only did he fold them, but he also colored two of them. 

Then standing at the end of the hallway which goes into our living room and dining room, he flew his plans. One after the other. 

He created his own air show.

Since, the sign is not legible, it says Happy Fourth of July. He had it attached to the tail of one of the planes, like you often see banners on a plane.

Just for the record, the days high temperature was 105. The seventh day in a row over 100 degrees.

I think I like our own personal air show better.

Grammar Lapbook Makes Reviewing Grammar Fun

I was going through pictures on my computer the other day and found these. It has been a while since I wrote anything new here, so I decided I would write a short post and share the pictures.

Last fall my then 10 year old made a grammar lapbook.She had a pretty good grasp of the parts of speech and their usage and I really didn't want to bore her by going through them again, so I had her work through In the Hands of a Childs' Operation: English Grammar curriculum and lapbook. I simply wanted her to refresh her memory on them and at the same time introduce a couple new concepts

She generally enjoys lapbook projects, but I think she particularly enjoyed this one as the story line involves helping a fictional nation learn English. She also thought the story was partly a mystery because she needed to search for various clues and information and many of the mini books follow a detective theme.

The study guide and directions were simple enough that she was able to do most of the work and research on her own after I provided her with a couple of resources. In addition the hunt aspect made it interesting to her. This unique format also helped her to retain the new information she learned as well as provide another perspective on what she already knew.