Archives for January 2021

Our family loves podcasts. Whether it’s something to listen to on the endless car rides to and from activities or while relaxing during some down time, podcasts are a brilliant way to add something educational and entertaining to the day.

While we really got into podcasts a few years ago to make our daily driving bearable (4 kids + competitive sports = constant driving), we’ve made podcasts a part of our day with our changed Covid schedule (read: home bound).

I usually like to put one on after lunch when the kids are ready for a break from schoolwork. They can sit and listen or do a quiet activity like drawing while they listen.

It’s a great way to shift gears and tone things down in the afternoon. It’s also great because podcasts can be very educational and cover topics that you might not normally study, or they can enrich the subjects you are working on.

If you’re not familiar with podcasts or only listen to them yourself, there are a ton of excellent kids podcasts to choose from. Take a look at my top 5 educational podcasts for kids below.

1. Brains On!

Brains On! is by far our favorite podcast of all time. My kids will almost always pick this one over others if given the choice.

It’s a science podcast for kids from American Public Media. Each episode takes a different theme (ex: everything about bees) or a questions (Can you dig to the center of the earth?) and spends about a half an hour going deep into the topic.

The host, Molly Bloom, is upbeat and engaging, and she always has a different kid co-host for each episode.

Each episode is broken up by Mystery Sounds, a short segment where a mystery sound is played and listeners have to guess what it is. My kids love this part, and they’re on the edge of their seats while they wait to find out if their guess is right.

The kids come away from each episode with a wealth of knowledge about the particular topic (and some weird trivia).

2. Wow in the World

Wow in the World is a high energy science podcast hosted by Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas. Each weekly episode takes a topic and brings it to life with wacky storytelling and oddball characters.

The episodes start off with a series of questions and answers about current scientific issues or findings. Then they jump into a specific topic, such as oobleck and non-Newtonian matter or everything you ever wanted to know about volcanic islands, through excellent storytelling.

My kids (and I) crack up through each episode as they deliver science with a hefty dose of humor.

3. The Past and the Curious

The Past and the Curious is a great history podcast for kids. Created and hosted by Mike Sullivan, this podcasts spends each episode delving into fascinating moments in history or interesting historical figures in a fun and often hilarious way.

Listeners will learn about unexpected connections between people, ideas, and events, but each thirty minute episode is so fun that it doesn’t feel like learning.

My kids’ favorite so far has been the Theodore Roosevelt episode. They wish they could have been able to spend a day in his house. Six kids plus countless animals with hilarious names sounds like magic to them. What a character!

Whether it’s about Leonardo da Vinci or the Harlem Globetrotters, kids will come away from each episode knowing so much more. I highly recommend it for parents who are history buffs, too. It doesn’t disappoint.

4. Forever Ago

Another podcast by the creators of Brains On!, Forever Ago focuses on interesting moments in history. The content is excellent and just as well made as Brains On!

In each episode, listeners are taken back to the beginning of one thing, such as skateboards, video games, or sandwiches. You get to look at when and how things started and how they’ve evolved. It’s fascinating!

Just like with Brains On! and their mystery sounds, Forever Ago has a short segment to get the kids involved. Each episode starts with something called “First Things First” which asks listeners to decide the order in which three inventions appeared in history.

The only downside is that new episodes aren’t being made, so once you’ve listened to all of them you’re out of luck. That said, I highly recommend you check it out.

5. Smash Boom Best

Smash Boom Best is yet another podcast from the makers of Brains On! (seriously, these guys are amazing). This is a debate show in which each episode takes two things (ex: rice vs noodles) and pits them against each other.

By listening to the show, kids learn about debating, how to make strong arguments using facts mixed with passion and strong delivery. They also learn how to judge arguments, such as picking out weaknesses in a person’s argument.

On top of being hilarious and entertaining, each episode also throws in debate tips and teaches logical fallacies.

If your kids are anything like mine, they love picking sides and getting serious about supporting which one they want to win. In the process of listening to the debate, they have a chance to form and articulate their own arguments or what they would have done differently from the debaters.

Go Forth and Listen!

That’s my roundup of the top 5 podcasts my family loves to listen to. There are many, many educational podcasts for kids out there, and we’re always checking out new ones.

If you don’t already, I highly recommend you add podcast listening to your daily schedule.

It’s one of the ways I create a learning rich environment in our home outside of structured lessons.

>>>To read about other ways I create a learning rich environment, hop over here!

Already listen to podcasts for kids and have a favorite? Which one do you think is best?

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Everybody knows that libraries are great places to check out books for free. A lot of people don’t know, though, that the public library is a treasure trove of free resources for homeschoolers.

I can wholeheartedly say that if you had to, you could definitely homeschool only with resources from the library. Keep reading to find out how you can maximize the benefits of your library card!

Choose the Best Library in Your Area

Let me first say that not every library is created equal. All of them will have books and an inter library loaning system to check out books that might not be available in your specific library.

All of them will have computers and a library database for research. Not all of them, however, will have a robust and active children’s department. Not all of them will have a large number of homeschoolers to interact with.

While it’s not terribly important to have a lot of fellow homeschoolers at your library, it can be a great thing. Many times, you can find informal homeschooler library meetups, and your kids can look forward to seeing some familiar faces when you go.

What to Look For

The most important thing to look for is a great children’s department. This guarantees that you will have good children’s programs, planned summer activities, and librarians who are passionate about youth literacy.

In my experience, the absolute best libraries for homeschoolers are those affiliated with local community colleges. If you don’t have something like this in your area, check out several libraries before choosing which one you want to make your go-to.

You’d be surprised by how different each library’s amenities are. See how the children’s sections looks and what programs they have. Are there kids book clubs or classes offered?

Visit at different times and see if there are homeschoolers during weekdays or families visiting during the weekends. Have a chat with the librarian to find out what kind of programs are offered.

If the library has a filled-out calendar of events for kids, then it’s a sure sign that the library will have a lot to offer.

Our library has a vibrant children’s program with books clubs for different age ranges, STEM activities, and a well-organized summer reading program. We also get to take advantage of whatever is available to the community college students, like access to their 3D printer. Awesome, right?

While you can’t expect to find all of that at every library, I’ll go into detail about some of the most common free resources for homeschoolers at the public library.

Preschool Story Time

Preschool story times are offered at most libraries and usually take place once a week. I have never been to a library that doesn’t offer some kind of weekly story time for kids. The best libraries will have multiple classes- like one for babies and toddlers, one for preschoolers, and possibly a Spanish or bilingual story time.

They are an excellent way for your child to meet some new friends, listen to stories be read allowed, and learn some songs. There’s also is usually a themed craft that the kids do at the end.

I highly recommend checking this out if you have little ones.

Library Apps

There are two notable library apps that work using your library card number: Libby and OverDrive.

By downloading one of these apps, you can have instant access to a ton of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and even videos.

How do these work? You search for the title you are looking for. It will either be available for instant checkout, or if there’s a waiting list, you can put it on hold. If you have it on hold, you will be notified when it is available for download (usually 1-6 weeks, max).

You can keep the items you’ve checked out for 2 weeks for they have to be returned, which is done simply with a press of a button.

So what’s the difference between Libby and OverDrive?

Libby is a basic app for easily downloading ebooks, magazines, and audiobooks on your phone or tablet. It’s great if you want something easy and unfussy.

OverDrive is the classic app that is also compatible with Kindles, Macs, and PCs, and also offers streaming videos (Libby does not).

Both Libby and OverDrive have the same books, so it’s really down to preference and what device you will be using.

I use the OverDrive app, and it has seriously saved my family when the Covid lockdowns shut down our library for months. We still had access to as many books as we wanted- even picture books for my preschooler!

This is an absolute must-have for homeschooling families. Not only is it instant access, but it also means you can take your library books anywhere without worrying about losing or damaging them. Going on a trip? Download some books for the road.

It’s also free, so you don’t have to spend a ton of money on books that will only be used once, like for unit studies.

Kanopy

Kanopy is a streaming video service that is free to library patrons. The library covers all of the costs. Seriously, no strings attached. All you need is a library card to sign up.

From movies and documentaries to foreign films and educational videos, this is a gold mine. And even better? There are no ads. Amazing.

Kanopy Kids is included, which offers a lot of children’s programs, educational videos, and animated picture books. We love the Little Pim series for language learning.

Depending on the public library that you are affiliated with, there is usually a monthly limit to how many videos you can check out. Mine has a limit of 4 videos a month, but Kanopy Kids is has unlimited streaming. It will let you know what your limit is when you sign up.

The downside? Although, it is offered at many public libraries throughout the country, it isn’t available everywhere. You can check here to see if your library participates.

Free WiFi, Computers, and Database Access

Every library has free WiFi, computers, and access to the library research database. This comes in really handy if your kids are learning how to do research, are working on a project, or just want a change of scenery to do their online work.

Free ABCmouse

A bonus for younger kids is that all libraries offer free access to ABCmouse. You don’t need a subscription to use this fun early learning program while using the library computers. When my two oldest kids were preschool age, we would always stick around after Preschool Story Time to play ABCmouse for awhile before going home.

The downside is that you can’t save your progress, so it’s a fun way to try it out, have some fun, and see if you like it. We loved it so much that we ended up subscribing to it so we could use it at home and on my phone with the app.

Obviously, libraries aren’t open to use the computers right now because of Covid, so if you want to try it out you can use my link to get a 2 month subscription for just $5.

Discounts for Library Patrons

Another serious benefit for homeschoolers is using your library card for discounted or free admission to museums and cultural attractions in your area.

In my city, kids get free admission to the art museum on the weekends. Other cities offer discounts to the theater, children’s museums, and science museums. You can do a quick Google search to see what types of discounts your library card gets you where you live.

Conclusion

So there you have it- a rundown of some of the coolest free library resources that homeschoolers should take advantage of.

And of course, make sure you’re using all of their amazing books to supplement the topics you’re working on.

When in doubt of what books to look for, just ask one of the librarians in the children’s department. They have a wealth of information and are passionate about children’s education and literacy.

Is there any other amazing free library resource I haven’t included in the post? Let me know in the comments!

Teach Geography in 5 Minutes?

This may sound like a late night infomercial gimmick, but it’s true! We really do spend about 5 minutes a day on geography with some pretty impressive results.

There are some subjects that don’t require you to spend a lot of time. In fact, this is something we work on during lunch on most days. Continue reading to see how I teach geography in just 5 minutes a day and how anyone can do it too.

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.

Why Geography?

Geography is a great choice because it’s a very visual subject and it can be taught to kids of different ages at the same time, but I can see this working for other subjects that require short lessons and regular, quick revision.

Because we learn geography during lunchtime, I have two maps hung up near our kitchen table. One is a world map and the other is a political map of the United States with capital cities, most populous cities, and each state’s flags and date of statehood. They are big enough so that everyone can see them clearly from the table.

Make It Accessible

Another benefit of having maps hung up somewhere central in the house is that we can quickly reference them. Whether we are learning about the Egyptian pyramids or reading a novel set in India, we can go to the map and see where these places.

Make It Applicable

Whenever we are planning a vacation or have friends who move abroad, we go straight to the map. Mark the places you’ve been.

When a subject directly applies to their lives and the things they are experiencing, kids naturally soak up the information.

The Strategy

So this is the strategy we take. We keep things really informal, so there’s no pressure. It’s really just a casual discussion and I’ll do a rapid fire quiz at the end. The kids are used to this, and they stay engaged because they know the lessons are really quick and won’t get boring.

So what does this actually look like in practice? Let’s say one week I want the kids to learn how to identify the seven continents. One day I’ll point to them and list them for everyone. Then I’ll see who can list all seven correctly out loud. We’ll go over this a few times, and then I’ll point to each continent to see if anyone can identify it without help.

If they can, great! If they can’t, then no big deal. I’ll end that lesson by naming each continent while pointing to them.

Progress Not Perfection

The next day, I’ll start by asking who can name them out loud. Someone might be able to list all or just some of them.

It’s important to remember to always look for progress not perfection. Then I’ll point to a continent and see if anyone can name it. See how many they can name then go over it a few times all together.

If they are struggling with this, I won’t add anything to the lesson yet and just focus on regular review. If they are quick to recall all of the information, I’ll add something else in for them to remember for the next day. For example, I’ll point out the equator and the poles or show the difference between lines of latitude and longitude.

By the end of the week, the continents will most likely be mastered and the lessons can move on to the oceans or something similar.

Revision Is Key

This doesn’t mean we will totally move on and not review continents anymore. I’ll bring it back into the quiz time at the lesson’s end every once in awhile just to make sure it hasn’t been forgotten.

Making sure that the lessons stay fresh and interesting is important, so moving onto something new after about a week keeps people engaged.

All of this can be adapted to fit different age groups, and the older ones will naturally retain more of this information than the younger ones.

When I started this, I had a two year old who wanted to join in. Most went over her head, but she was soon able to learn how to identify most continents, where we are on the world map and the map of the United Sates, as well as the the cardinal directions with ease just from hearing it regularly.

After learning the map basics, continents, and oceans, more detailed information can be added. Countries, states, and capital cities can be brought in depending on the level your kids are at.

Fun Practice is Effective Practice

The idea is to provide small amounts of information each time so that it’s easily learned. Just like with reading practice games, keeping things fun and light makes the lessons more effective. As you build on this with more information, it will feel easy and still only take about 5 minutes each time.

While you are always looking for progress and not perfection, eventually mastery will happen if you review small lessons every day until they have instant recall. You’ll be amazed at how much information your kids will amass with this short daily practice.

So there you go! A simple and effective way to teach geography in 5 minutes!

Continued Reading

I highly recommend reading diverse books from different countries. Not only is it a wonderful way to expose kids to different cultures, it also gives you more opportunities to connect cultures to the countries on the map.

<<<For an extensive compilation of diverse picture books and chapter books, check out my boards on Pinterest

I’m constantly adding to it, so follow me (check the Pinterest widget on the right sidebar) to see all of my updates I make on there.

Can you think of any other subjects that would do well with this method? Have you used this method in your own homeschool? Let me know in the comments below!

Before homeschooling my four kids, I didn’t realize just how drastically different learning styles between siblings could be. My kids have been a mixed bag when it comes to learning how to read.

Two of them dove in head first with enthusiasm, constantly asking me to sit down and practice with them. One shocked us all by sounding out words before her third birthday. And one, my reluctant reader, struggled with reading and would become so frustrated that she would completely shut down.

At that point, she was classified as an emergent reader. She had all the tools: how to sound out each letter, how to blend sounds, and exposure to many sight words.

But for emergent readers to become independent readers, they need practice, practice, practice. And no matter what I did to coax her into practicing with me, she just wouldn’t do it.

For certain types of kids, the constant mistakes that are inevitable in the early stages of learning to read can be so discouraging that at some point they balk at reading anything. All the time.

If you have an emergent reader who hates to read out loud, then you know the struggle.

One day, when I was at my wit’s end, I decided to throw out the lessons and practicing for the day and shake things up. I started writing easy to read clues on scraps of paper- the beginning of something that changed my reluctant reader into an enthusiastic reader.

The Reading Scavenger Hunt was born.

Make it a Game

The idea is simple: write 3-6 clues and hide them around the house. Tailor them to your child’s reading level, keeping it fairly simple in the beginning to build confidence. For example: Go to the tub. The level of difficulty is up to you and your child’s ability.

Give your child the first clue that will lead him to the location of the second clue. The second clue will lead him to the third and so on.

Write as many as you think your child will be willing to read the first time and increase them as you go. At the final clue, you can leave a little prize like a Hershey’s Kiss or a quarter- something to make it fun and rewarding.

Each time you play the game, you can include more challenging words or a sight word that needs to be memorized. Include that sight word in several of the clues, and you will see that your child starts recognizing the word faster each time he reads it.

The Results

Not only did regularly playing this game increase reading speed and help with sight word recognition, it also massively grew my child’s confidence and interest in reading.

Instead of feeling pressured to read perfectly and frustrated for not being able to read fluently, she was caught up in the excitement of the game and the race to the prize.

And guess what? Her confidence built up every time she was able to read an entire clue independently.

After awhile, I was able to slowly bring back more structured reading practice.

Several years have passed, and now that kid who hated reading more than anything is now the most voracious reader in the family. Never in a million years would I have believed that when we started this journey.

If getting your child to practice reading has become an epic power struggle or always ends in tears, try switching things up with a reading scavenger hunt. Nothing encourages learning more than having fun!

<<<Pssst! Want to see how you can teach geography in a fun, game like way? Check out my post How to Teach Geography in 5 Minutes a Day!

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