Prize Box for Homeschooling

A prize box is a box of prizes used as an incentive to do all work and do it well. It can be a cardboard box festively decorated and put in a prominent place in your school room as a reminder.
In the early 90's when we first started homeschooling we used the cereal prizes for our prize box. We were going to do the same thing now but realized the prizes aren't very good any more. At that time the kids fought over the cereal prize so it had to be earned out of the prize box.
Prizes were earned by finishing a book, memorizing times tables, doing chores, keeping room clean for a week, or finishing a reader.
Later we had a point system where things like coming to school dressed and ready for a new day, room cleaned up, hair combed, on time for school, brush teeth, bed on time etc. were worth one point each per day. Chores also had a certain amount of points depended on whether they were daily or weekly chores. School subjects were worth one point a day for each class. Special points were awarded for finishing a book, memorizing times tables etc.
We had big prizes and little prizes depending on how many points were earned.
This year we will have items like a bag of beads, candy bar, box of crayons, paints, small cross stitch project, brush, mirror etc. for small prizes.
For large prizes we will have a bag of jerky, a tool, a new book, crossword puzzles, puzzle, stay up late on weekend or any other items on sale or of interest to the child.
We learned early on that no one was allowed to look in the box unless they were retrieving a prize and they only had 3 minutes to pick their prize.
This worked well since if I was at a clearance sale and added stuff to the box the kids wouldn't know until they had earned the prize and were allowed to look. They loved it.

Homeschool Supplies

The first couple years we home schooled we took advantage of August going-back-to-school sales at retail stores. When you can buy 24 crayons for 39 cents, paper for 4/$1, paperclips, rubber bands etc also on sale you save a lot of money. We would buy a years worth of supplies.
A years worth of supplies per child is one box of colored pencils, 2 boxes of 24 crayons, 1 ruler, 1 scissors, 1 pkg. pens, 1 pkg. pencils, 1 box markers, 1 small pencil sharpener 5-10 70 page notebooks, 2 pkg. notebook paper. For young children 2 pkg. of pencils and no pens.
Each child had their own scissors, crayons, pencils, pens, ruler, markers, small pencil sharpener all put into their own school box which they decorate on the first day of school. The kids always looked forward to the first day since they enjoyed receiving all the new school items. They are responsible for taking care of their items. Each item is labeled. When something is not put away we know who the culprit is.
Some children keep very good care of their things while others don't. When one of the children loses an item they have to earn another which teaches them to take care of their things.
Usually in January when school starts after Christmas break we add more pencils, paper and pens.
We have an electric pencil sharpener, stapler, hole puncher, paper clips, rubber bands etc. which stays in a drawer for everyone to use. In another drawer extra notebooks and paper are kept.
We put crayons, pens, pencils, markers etc. which have been used a lot in cleaned out plastic peanut butter containers for summertime or for other use.
This works well for us.

Homeschool State Books

One of my grown daughters favorite activities when she was being homeschooled was making state books.
Every few years or so we would study all the states. One year they had to draw and color the state and include all the main rivers, mountain ranges, national parks and cities.
On the next sheet of paper they drew, colored, and wrote about the state bird, tree, flower etc. They would also make a list of the capital, state song and any other information they might want to include.
They also had to research the state to find out why someone would want to visit that state and what they would see if they visited. Such as historical monuments, national parks, worlds biggest ball of twine etc. This would include the geography of the state as well.
We spent a half a week on each state and would spend a whole week on those that we really wanted to know more about.
We put all the states in a notebook which they now have to treasure.

Homeschool Letters

I have been going though our homeschooling papers from the 90's when our daughters were 9, 11, and 13. One of the neat ideas we used was a notebook which we wrote letters to each other in. On the first page I wrote them a letter similar to this one:

Dear (daughter), date
A least once a week you can write a letter to me and I will write you back.
You can write about what you do or do not like about school, what you would like to do, how you feel or what you would like to do on a holiday. You may write about anything you want.
When you have a letter for me to read put it on the blue box by the library books.
I will write you back, answer your letter, tell you how I feel or just write about something I like or dislike.
write back soon, love mom


It was amazing to see how their writing and spelling improved. They also had good ideas and if they had a problem they had a way to write me with out everyone knowing about it. In some of the letters they wanted to trade chores, had field trip ideas and just wanted to know that I was paying attention. These books are now like a diary or journal.

My daughter Annabelle wants to do this during the coming school year.

http://www.wabbstersbooks.blogspot.com/

Homeschool Using American Girl Products

One year over a decade ago, we used American Girl products as part of our curriculum. Our girls were about 7, 9, 11 at that time. The birthdays were in April, July and November. Each girl received a doll for her birthday. We did each doll separately so we could all learn about that time period. We would read The American Girl book, do the craft and art projects, cooking, and we would sew some of the clothes(I did most of this but they were able to do simple things). We had Kirsten, Molly and Addy. When we finished with the dolls we had, we continued through the rest of the series including Samantha, Felicity and some of the others so we could continue learning about the different time periods. I think the girls really enjoyed the lessons since everything was so interactive.
This worked well because I had three girls who were all interested in dolls, books and the crafts.
Annabelle is the last girl at home and even though she is eleven she is more interested in stuffed animals so this would not suit her.

Homeschool Field Trips on a Budget

Most of our field trips were free.

We had field trips to the post office, grocery store, police station, airports etc.

Sometimes we would go on a walk and identify birds, plants, bugs etc.

Going to the park and having lunch and reading a book under a tree is another great idea. A park with ducks is fun, especially if you can feed them.

A wetlands or national park is great way to spend the day or camp overnight.

In the spring a trip to a nursery is very educational. Usually they have plants at all stages of growth.

Zoos, Aviaries and planetariums sometimes have a small fee but are worth it.

Manufacturing plants are great learning experiences. Do you live by plants that make cheese, chocolate, shoes, soda etc.?

A pet store can be a good experience if you call ahead to let them know you're having a field trip and request a knowledgeable associate who may have a wealth of information.

Anyone in your neighborhood with a special hobby. Llamas, dairy farms, ostriches, a weaver, a seamstress, mechanic, author, singer, train collector, truck driver, etc. A person with a hobby is more likely to be enthusiastic about it and may give your kids new ideas to explore.

When you really look around you will soon have so many ideas you won't know how to fit them all into your busy schedule.

When you decide where you want to go its a good idea to call ahead and make arrangements. Most businesses and hobbyists are more than glad to help.

Homeschool Yearbooks

For the first couple of years we homeschooled we kept written records and that was about it. I read in a magazine about making a yearbook each year. We can look back now and we have yearbooks for each year with pictures of the different things we did. We have pictures of them doing schoolwork, how they looked on the first and last days of school, special projects, field trips, activites, Valentines parties, crocheting or shop projects, gardening projects from start to finish, fair entries with pictures of items entered and ribbons won etc. Its wonderful to look back and see all things we did together. Now that part of my children are grown it would be a neat idea to put them in a digital format so they could all have a copy. We always kept written records but the yearbooks were something special.
With only two children at home this year we are going a step further and making homeschool scrapbooks and have the kids put them together for an art project.

Homeschooling-Science in Summer

During the summer we do a lot of hands on Science activities. Baby chicks, baby goats and other baby animals make wonderful projects.Gardening projects- even container gardening makes a wonderful project especially when the vegetables get ripe and you get to eat them. Which of course leads to a cooking project. Last summer we were able to get fruit from an orchard next door to us and do a canning project. There were some complaints. During the winter we opened the different jars which we called "summer in a jar" and the kids loved it. Now we hear "how much are we canning this year." Its great the kids know where their food comes from.Taking walks and identifying plants, animals, rocks, insects, birds etc.makes a great field trip and the kids enjoy doing something different and spending time together. We make a nature book and draw what we have seen with date, place etc. The kids love it. I also have a nature notebook as an example.Camping out in the backyard and identifying constellations, big and little dippers, the north star and the moon is also very exciting for kids. Of course we are very lucky here and the mountains are only a couple of miles away and there are fewer lights and you have more visibility of the sky.During the hot times of summer is a good time for other activites such as teaching crocheting, knitting or even shop which you might not have time for during the school year.