Just a peek of what I have been up to...our Geography Center

OK my batteries died whilst trying to get my photo shoot in...OI.  But this is a sliver of what I have been spending my time on.  This is my Geography Center (the display board type-like my science center one).  I am using some Home School in the Woods Olde World maps (reviewing this-so look for that info in a couple weeks), and various other goodies. I also ran out of Velcro (I know-I know-that is completely unacceptable!) and altho I pretty much have the other flap thought out and done-I cannot show it b/cuz I need that Velcro to finish it up to make it all perty like.  The center is sorta thought out but not quite....I think as I go along with these projects....so it is empty at the moment.

Imagine all the stuff completed on this side (just pretend now...) the continents that are on the top map are actually Velcro'd to the map-they will get placed on that green card (once I have that wonderful Velcro in my possession) for storage.  The oceans one is almost done-I forgot I needed two Pacific Ocean cards-oops.  The idea with this main map is, that the student will see the world position of whatever it is we are focusing on. So when we come to studying oceans/continents-all they have to do is glance up to see its location in the world.

Then the 2 pockets below that, have a Velcro dot on them so that I can change out the labels of what it is I am wanting them to find.  Then the focus point is a map that shows what it is we are zeroing in on.  Right now it is the Pacific Ocean.  Then the child will take their sheet (that I put in their workbox on a clip board, or will have it by the display-depending on my mood) and fill in the info I want them to (in this case for my 2nd grader-it is just "North Pacific" and "South Pacific", but for my teen-she will have to note all the little seas and countries found within the map area).

The little blue card with the fish-well that is a fun one I made to fill in the blank spot below the focus map (I will explain that reason in another post) in which I took a part of a notebooking page of HSintheW's map collection, and put teeny tiny Velcro spots for the fish to go (there are 2 b/cuz the Pacific is in two spots on that map-but usually there is only a need for 1) which have the Velcro (big surprise heh?) on their back sides-so the child will put a fish on the ocean we are discussing...when we get to the continents-I have turtle erasers (found at the local Dollar Tree in the school section-in a container with a bunch of erasers) to place on the continent we're focusing on.

All of this is Velcro'd for a reason-so that I can switch up the type of study we are doing-
right now it is oceans and continents
next time around it will most likely be the states-so I need to be able to have different labels when necessary and move the position of the maps (some are vertical)
and so forth.

The idea here is to make this very versatile so I get the most use out of one of these display boards-no need to buy a new one for every type of Geography study.  I didn't that with the Space one-since we'll be studying it for a loooonnnngg time-and will cycle back to it when he is older...so I was not  as concerned with that issue for that application.  But the geography center is a different story-I am not lingering too long over any one subject-so I need it to be interchangeable with not much time betwixt subjects of focus.

Well, once the ole Velcro issue is resolved, the middle section has stuff on it, and I have the right side completed-I will post the whole enchilada for you-just wanted to tease ya and let you know that I have not fallen off the face of the earth-and that I am having a few moments of creativity.

Teen's workbox stuff-Science notebook

Take a hop over to my Hsing on a Wing and a Prayer Blog to see the latest in our notebook craze. This one is for the teen's biology study. Each module will get its own section, where we will add all sorts of goodies that we want her to remember. You can use this concept with many subjects!

And thanks to my crafty bud at Spell Out Loud, I now have a great way to make these babies even prettier. I kinda knew about this, but needed to "see" it and then I watched the You Tube link to get a better grip. Do stop over there and check it out! I am going to be "beautifying" all the notebooks 'round here (so the science one will undergo a transformation too!)...[and thanks Maureen, you help inspire and motivate me!]

As for the teen's workbox, I add whatever graphics and such we need for that day, with a note telling her what to do, plus the notebook/glue/scissors, etc. and of course, her science reading assignment/text. You could do that for any of your teen's subjects-but you have to have that stuff ready to go (which means getting the copies, worksheets, materials gathered and set to go B4 your student gets to it)..but just to let you in on a teeny tiny secret--lately, we've been scrounging up the stuff after we do the reading b/cuz my life as of late has been extremely busy crazy...so don't feel too bad if you don't get it done until the point of the student actually doing it, or after...as long as it gets done...

Answers to some good ??s

Some of my pals have asked a few questions about the science center.

As for using the centers with my teens-no I do not use them (yet) as my sassy teen would probably snicker if I did-but she does move thru-out the house to work on some subjects.  Her stuff is mainly in her boxes or is listed in her Big Schedule book (like the guitar for instance-no stuffing that puppy in the wee WKBX pockets!) I honestly cannot think of a center that would work with her curriculum-but if I come across something-I will be sure to post it.

As for where I got the pics for the science center-I got them from a few spots:
I purchased a 2 pack of space posters from the local Dollar Tree b4 the year started. It was in the teacher section.  I cut up the one into 2 long parts to fit the side panels, then the Planets sign/planet pieces was another poster in that pack. I cut out the planets and sign-then laminated em, added velcro to the backs so that he could put them up on the bottom section of the board, in order.  I used black velcro to hide it better on the board.  I used a yellow sheet of cardstock and just used packing tape to put it on the board-so it is a pocket.  That is where I add worksheets and such (the pics on that are cut out from the cover of a space coloring book I got from the Target Dollar Section b4 school started too-I have been adding a few of those pages for him to do also).  I also bought the pack of cards about space at Target.  I laminated them, and add them to the respective pockets (same technique as the big pocket, just with smaller card stock pieces) and rotate them out on occassion.  I am still looking for some other space stuff to add in the blank spots-but for now it works.  When done-simply fold and store away.  Gotta love that!  (the board was from JoAnns-they had a boat load of selections b4 school started, with many different colors-which unfortunately I didn't get...but there is always this coming summer to stock up)....

And I think that answers the ??s so far.  Keep those coming ladies-sometimes I forget to post the details-LOL. 

**The notebook info will come along soon-hopefully!  You can make these for science (which we will do)-using the multitude of foldable mini-books and also for basically any subject that has lots of info one needs to remember.

First set of workbox stuff for 2010

Well, I missed ya all.  I am back with some stuff we have going here for our workboxes...

My teen has this to work on (which she found yesterday in her WKBXes).  It is a math notebook, where she will keep all her math definitions, any helpful diagrams, equations, etc. This material is coming from the Ray's Elementary Algebra we are reviewing for TOS, which we'll be using as a part of her Algebra lessons. In the book she is adding the definitions of terms used in Algebra, so we made some flap foldables to put in the pages.  We titled the term, then underneath teen Sissy will list their definitions.  We will keep this up until the book is filled.  I am allowing her access to this during lessons, and on tests if necessary.  By using this approach-I hope the material cements into her head.  Math has been a struggle for this student and hopefully, by going back to the very basics (using a text from 1864 ?) and Dinah's Zike's notebook ideas...we'll succeed in her retaining and understanding this stuff.  I watched a sample lecture covering this technique, and knew immediately that it was what I was praying for.  My goal is to get Dinah's foldables book for the higher grades and the notebook book too.  I will do a separate post (hopefully soon) on how to get this notebook going.

 

Definitions section

 

 8 tabbed square fold
(just slice the 1/4 triangle sections in half to get 8)

This is just one of the new changes for her this term.  I will be posting new teen ideas as I am able.

For the Boy:

 Here is the Big Schedule Book in action.  I have pre-done the days with the various cards, then when it comes time to stuff the boxes, I take a look-see to get my box count and any other misc. activities.  Obviously, it doesn't tell me exactly what to put in-but it is a great visual so I can set my schedule set once (only) per week.

One of his new Christmas gifts, inserted into WKBXes for a "fun activity" between the 3 Rs.
I found this at JoAnns and used my 40% discount coupon to get a great price.  Below is the Science Center (the card is betwixt WKBX 6 and 7) loaded with a new puzzle, the planets to stick in order along the bottom of the board, and the activity section is packed with the pencil and sheet he will need to do the experiment from the Apologia Astronomy book-under Mercury.  The materials for the experiment is in the black container/small container too.  All ready for him to explore. 

 The experiment is designed to show the student what kind of impact asteroids cause on a planet's surface. This out to be interesting-gonna have the mini-vac ready too!  I can see it now-flour flying all over-ah what a HSing momma will do to further their child's education!

So that is just some of what I am trying to get into the WKBXes 'round here.

Yeah! Finished Schedule books

OK, so UPS was a flop-they only do the comb-binding there. So went to Office Max. For about $3 each, had em bound. I did get the 1 1/4" ish ring size-I measured what the thickness was, when I had cards on both sides of the day charts, and it was about an inch-so I didn't want to have it all pinched by having too small of a ring-but now that I see it (too late to change it) I am thinking an inch size is perfect. Actually, the dude said they come in mm -so whatever is close to that. Anyhoo-this 3 or so week project is finally done! Whoop it up!

Had a good question about the schedule books

My TOS mate Lisa from the Berry Patch, at Freedom Academy (that is her HS blog) asked if I would then be scheduling out the full week, using the Schedule Books-and that would be a big YES!!!  With the daily schedule strips, I would be redoing 5 x per week, what could be done once a week.  That way too-I can see what we have going on thru-out the week, and will be able to pack the boxes (even tho this doesn't tell me what is going in-I still know how many boxes I wanted for that day) accordingly.  I tend to wing it too much, so this way I will be a bit more grounded.  Not that we are bound by that schedule, but it is a goal to try to meet.  On those days we simply cannot get to it all-if it is of major importance, then those box cards/activity cards will be moved to the spare spots or the "carry over" spots on the next day's grid.

Also, she wanted to know about binding.  I am going to the UPS store first, b/cuz it is just up the road-(want to scope out who would be doing it tho-and if I feel they understand and can accomplish it without ruining it-I will have it done there since it is like $3 or so bucks a piece)...but if I am uneasy about their skills (hey, ya know, this took a lot of time and some cashola to create  these beauties-have to be a bit protective of em), I will go to the Office Depot or is that Office Max? Well, whatever it is near the mall, to have it done.  Kinkos can do it too-just not one near close enough to our homestead go to.

And to Lisa, and the other gals who have already commented-thanks!  I am pleased to be able to share this idea (altho not that is was mine originally-thanks to Ginger Snap Shots for that) in the Super-Sized version.  If it helps a fellow HSing momma plan the kiddos week out, and if it saves her time in the long run (that would be after the things are made, cut, laminated, Velcro'd, bound and such-LOL) then it is all worth it!  

Blessings!

Have some of the Schedule Book info up on Scribd

I have a lot of these cards and the schedule book up for downloading...but you will have to figure out the tabs for days of the week-as the ones up on Scribd are not marked for it. I waited until I had the 2 pages glued back to back to each other,  before cutting out the tab areas-it just makes it easier and that way you have it correct.


Also, as for the cover page-you are on your own there too (sorry). I used clip art to create the pic, then added the child's name on it below the pic. That will need to be trimmed to fit so that the cover doesn't hide the tabs on the side-I think I trimmed about 1/2 in total off of it. You will laminate back to back-so the cover and the calendar grid day for Monday will be together. I have downloaded the days of the week pages for the calendar side of the schedule book.  I also have a blank one there-so be sure you are copying off the right one-I figure the blank one can be downloaded if you want a Sat. or Sunday page too.  The days of the week tabs are now up as well-there is some extra hints/suggestions on it as well.

You can find all these on my Scribd page for What's in the Box?

What's in the Box? Scribd homepage

I don't have all the little cards there because some are very specific to our needs-again-you can easily make these using your MS Word application.  They are 1 3/4" X 1 3/4" boxes , I get 3 x4 down for the grids.

Schedule book card ideas

I had a tackle box I bought at Kmart to hold some of my stamping supplies, so I emptied that, snapped off the two ends on one plastic divider strip (they come out easily) so I could have a bigger section for the calendar cards...it won't be too hard to keep them in order,  if I am careful...and there are enough sections here to hold two kids' worth of calendar, "do workbox #..." cards-one set per day/per kid (different color for each day), and the lunch cards. I think I paid less than $5 for the tackle box-but I have seen tons of different types of storage boxes like this, that would work great too. I wrote on it what was in it-plus it has a snap on top, which is very needful!

 

 

The lunch cards all fit into one section.

This beauty is what the boy made at one of the Home Depot Kid's Workshops.  It is suppose to be for nuts and bolts and such-but hey-why not use it for cards?  It has a sliding clear plastic top, and it holds the cards perfectly.  I have the boy's on the left, the teen's on the right, to keep them straight.

 

Oh goodie!  I see I did take a pic of it-well, here it is!

I made a bunch of cards for the computer games we have for him-and I did a couple for Starfall too.

 

Our girlie will be starting her driver's ed classes, so had to make these!

I made several of each card per kid.  That way if we are going on a field trip, both kids' books will have that card in it.  Or the library, HS group, walking, etc.

I will try to get some of these loaded to my scribd pages-but I have to go thru and make sure they are more generic-but really these are easy to create yourself.  I used our MS Word program, made grids of 3 across by 4 down per page at 1 3/4" X 1 3/4 ", then clicked the clip art section, chose what I thought would work, shrunk them to fit the spot and added instructions if necessary (you cannot put a lot down-so make it short and sweet), then copy/pasted it into as many blocks as I needed.  Then you simply save, print on card stock, cut em out, laminate them (tricky b/cuz you need to be sure they don't slide into the section b4 them and get laminated together-lost a library card that way)-and then cut again, Velcro 'em and whallah!  You are done!

I can get the big grid schedule pages up too, but there won't be the lines to guide the tabs.  I will have to go and measure out those and see if I can make a template or something-but to be honest-it is going to take me some time to do all of this.  I have a boat load of reviews coming due that I must pay attention to, it is inching up on Christmas and I really want to be done dealing with anything schooly by mid-Dec.  So it may take til next year.  The big grid sizes are 3x5 down of 2x2" and the other sheet (with the calendar) has a bigger box in the top for the calendar card, then 2 3x3 grid boxes of 2x2.    You will have to print those on card stock and decide if you want to stamp them-or as the boy pointed out-you could laminate and then let the kids sticker up the areas that are not in the grid space.  Or leave em blank.

So that is my major project news-hope you enjoyed reading about it. 

**Oh, and before someone asks-there is nothing wrong with a daily schedule strip, it was just becoming very time consuming to redo those every nite, this way I only set the days up one time per week (outside of any carry over cards).  I was able to trim down the cards I already had to fit the new schedule grids-so I was able to use those too.

Simple Workbox activity that saves me work and time

So I found these blend cards at Target, and decided to laminate them (since I figure I will be hsing forever: the kids say I am going to HS their future kiddos-not so sure, but I can pass them along) and decided the boy could cut them out.   He is still in the throws of learning to read, so these will give him some nice, colorful flashcards to practice blending better, and this little project is a great break from the 3 Rs that go into his workboxes!  My wrists have been stressed (causing carpal tunnel) and he likes to cut up stuff-so this is a win-win situation for sure.

November's ASK SHERI question

OK, now this one (from my faithful askee from One More Equals Four) is a good question, and well, not so sure I have a good answer for it.  So, I am asking for my fellow bloggie pals for some assistance.  Please, if you have anything to offer up-leave a comment for all to read.

Here is her question:

In the past, I have traditionally graded papers as my kids have completed them and we immediately correct them. Today, our first day of all out "workboxing", the kids are turning in their papers in our basket. When I get to them, I am correcting them, but I am not sure how to deal with mistakes. By the time I have found the mistakes, the kids have moved on to another subject and I don't feel like I should break in to that subject, however, I have also promised them that when they are done, they are done. I hate to wait until tomorrow to correct the mistakes because I think the correction is good reinforcement and eliminates bad habits starting to form. What do you do?

My answer:

I have two different situations regarding the need for correcting papers-

First off, my second grader and I work on the more "challenging material" together, or within close proximity of each other-so I see any mistakes almost immediately.  We correct on the spot.   So I have yet to encounter the above issue.  

But for my teen-that is a whole 'nother situation.  I learned long ago [with my test subjects-kid 1 and kid 2] that they preferred to "correct" their work themselves.  Now since "cheating" is unheard of here-no need or reason to-I would hand the TG to them to go thru their work, and correct as necessary. This little Test Project of mine proved quite valuable-since they saw the correct method, within moments of finishing their assignment, and they were able to make the necessary changes immediately. It also saved me a lot of work!  On some things-I would go thru the work (such as tests or essays/research papers) but on the subjects that were more black and white-such as math-they could correct.  So I am continuing this method with kid3 and in the future-kid4.   Right now-my 10th grader has to turn in her science to the lady who teaches it at the HS group we partake in.  The same goes for the Film Analysis course, and the Finance 101 class.  So, I am off the hook there.  As for history, Home Ec and various other things we are doing-I do not necessarily have to "rush" or quickly correct-it simply isn't necessary.  I will just put it in a "correct this stuff" file for the next day-after the Bible lesson.  She knows she needs to go thru the notes I made and fix the boo-boos.  Easy as pie.

When and if I get to a situation where they need to have something correctly immediately, I guess I will simply ask the other student to hold off on what we are doing (if we are working on it together) or ask them to move to a box that they can work on alone-so I can go thru the material and hand it back for any corrections (meaning that that student will need to wait patiently whilst I do so-before they can move along to the next box).  

I am actually looking forward to reading what others do-as I am just a bit unsure myself what is the best method. So dear friends-do tell!


Thanks!