This is what our King Tut looked like after only 21 days of dehydration. It was time to change out the salt mixture to make sure he gets completely dried out. Amazingly, he did not smell bad. I could only smell the spice mixture we added. When I took him out of the old mixture, he had salt caked onto him that I had to scrape off. The salt was slightly moist. Once he's completely dried out, we will wrap him in bandages that are soaked in glue to dress him as a proper mummy. Then place him in the box we painted to look like a tomb.
My own unit plans
- Dr. Seuss
- Winnie the Pooh
- Fall/Halloween
- Winter/Christmas Lots of books from Dollar Days at Teachers Express Scholastic for science, health, math, language and anything else I found interesting Lots of CurrClick books to go with units
6th Grade Ancient Civilizations - Early Man through Persia next year Greece and Rome History History Odyssey Level 2 Ancients by Pandia Press supplementing with Intellego Ancient Civilizations for the videos and interactives
Literature Studies Gilgamesh the Hero by Beautiful Feet* Loved This! Need to write a review one of these days! The Golden Goblet by Novel Units
For the beginning of our Egypt unit, we decided to mummify a chicken. Well I didn't want to waste an entire roaster chicken, so I settled on my little friend King TutankhamHen. He's a Cornish Game Hen and is much easier to handle and takes a lot less ingredients with the same results, plus he's way cheaper!
He looks so big here!
All of my ingredients
Baking Soda, 91% Rubbing Alcohol, Baking Powder, Pumpkin Pie Spice and lots and lots of Salt
I already had the baking powder, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice. I bought the spice last year online because I use a lot of pumpkin pie spice throughout the year; unfortunately, it is really heavy on cloves and ginger, so it's just been sitting there unused and looking sad.
Then I soaked him in the 91% Rubbing Alcohol for 3 hours. This destroyed any bacteria and gave him an already dry feel to his skin. It will also help remove any smell.
Once he was soaked, I drained and rinsed, then patted him dry. While Gamer Boy prepared the natron mixture. We just eyeballed it, but the actual recipe calls for:
4 parts Salt
1 part Baking Soda
1 part Baking Powder
The baking soda and powder increase the acidity of the mix and fight bacterial growth. Next I added some of the Pumpkin Pie Spice. It helps to mask the smell, but I really hope pumpkin pie spice is not forever ruined for me. Finally, we used a fresh dry ziploc bag and placed our little King in and poured the mixture into his cavities. Then poured the rest around him, making sure he was completely covered. This mixture should last 3 days or more. We'll keep checking him as we progress through the unit. We'll know it's time to change the mixture when we notice the salt is moist. I've read this recipe in particular really prevents any odor, I guess we'll see soon enough.
Homeschoolers quickly become experts at using their local library to its fullest potential. A great library can be one of the most important tools for a homeschooler. Often you'll see them come in with a laundry basket or bags full of books to return and pick up another pile of books from the hold section, then they are out the door in a matter of minutes. With that amount of use, they're bound to know some good tips.
Check to see if your local library offers anything from the list below, if they don't, it never hurts to ask. As homeschooling grows, the library system may be looking for ways to improve service to homeschoolers as they realize what valuable customers they can be.
Ask about getting an Educator/Teacher card. This could give you an extended check-out time, doubling it in most cases.
Requestand have them waiting for you on a hold shelf. This is especially helpful if you live in a library district with more than one library. You will be able to see the full selection and choose from there rather than just the library closest to you. The library will transfer the book you requested to your library, so you can pick it up there.
Download audiobooks and ebooks. If you need a book quick, check to see if there is an ebook available. These are downloadable and usually come with a time limit for use. This means, once your checkout time has expired, you will no longer be able to open the document. Most libraries install a program called Overdrive, that will keep track of your downloads.
Curriculum Research - If you are undecided between curriculum, check your library before purchasing. It should have most of the history encyclopedias, Kingfisher, Usborne and Story of the World. Maybe you want to try out Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons or Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading? Check it out first and see what will work for you first.
Supplementing Curriculum - It's not uncommon to see a huge reading list from a curriculum provider. Check the library first and see what they have. You can avoid a big book bill and maybe even find additional supplemental material to use.
Library Classes - Everything from poetry to crafts to computer classes. Check your library's event calendar for times and locations. Most require a pre-registration or to show up 30 minutes ahead, so check out the details.
Storytime - Give yourself a break and have someone else read a story to them. There are usually multiple age groups, times and days to choose from. The library will give you the title or theme ahead of time. Arrive early since these events usually fill up fast.
Library Book Sales - Most libraries have sales twice at least twice a year and sell books for bargain prices. Many also have a permanent section of for sale books where you'll find a goldmine of books.
Book Requests - If you really want a book your library doesn't have, you can request it. It's worth a shot if it's a book you think will be a great addition to the library and better than purchasing it yourself.
Co-op Space - If you have a group that regularly meets, ask if you can use their meeting room. Perfect if you don't want to worry about cleaning or prefer to meet in neutral places.
Homeschool Classes - Libraries are noticing the growth and potential of homeschooling and have begun to add a class to introduce you to everything your library has to offer. They also may provide a year-long class series with one topic, sign language for example, that is perfect for homeschoolers.
Things you may want to check out from your own library:
The Great Courses - College professors recorded their lectures to share with you at home. If you have an advanced or gifted student, a child who is in love with a certain subject and has read everything they can get their hands on or just to mix things up a bit, these can be helpful. There are also cd lectures that would be great for long car trips.
Encyclopedias- A great resource for any homeschool
DK Eyewitness Books with clip art cd if possible. They have hundreds of subjects that would fit into just about any curriculum. The picture and caption style make it fun to read while not feeling overbearing. The clip art cd's are great for those that need clip art for timelines or reports.
Leveled Readers - There's a huge variety of leveled readers for any interest. From Little Bear to Star Wars to Junie B. Jones and more. These books will build vocabulary and build confidence to encourage more reading.
Books with a CD - Sometimes just sitting and listening to someone else read while they follow along is enough to peak interest and build skill. Plus, it's a nice break for mom. :)
DVDs and Music CD's - There's a lot of preschool/K kids music albums and videos out there. Why spend the money on them, only to discover your kids really don't like to hear other kids sing? Check out the multitude of media available, you're sure to find something you like.
Audiobooks - Going on a trip? Running errands in the car all day with the kids? Give them something educational to listen to and keep them quietly entertained. You can use audiobooks in your car's stereo system or individual mp3 players for each child to create a custom level of education. It's a great way to catch up on some reading they wouldn't otherwise get around to.
For inspiration check out my Book List post to find books by subject or level.
Feel free to add your own favorite library tips in the comments section below.
A School in Rural China
Looking for the best curriculum?
Need advice?
Just don't know which curriculum is better?
These sites will help you decide what will work for you.
Cathy Duffy - Based on her book "Top 100 Books for Homeschool Curriculum"
1. Find out your state laws regarding homeschooling.
The most important first step you can make is to find out your states laws. To do this you need to go to http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp. Some states require no notice that you will be homeschooling and some have strict requirements to submit curriculum, records, state testing and such. You will need to find out what your state expects and then decide for yourself what path you should take.
2. Read about the differentmethods and decide which is right for you.
3. Research all the different curricula and narrow down what you would like. Your individual situation can change your curriculum course greatly.
If you've always known you will homeschool your children and they have never been in public school, then you can choose your own course and timeline according to what your child is capable of.
If you have just pulled your child out of public school, then they have already been introduced to a lot of subjects. You may need to specifically focus on areas they are behind in first, then go from there. The public school system has a spiral learning curve, for almost every subject, they go a mile wide and an inch deep. In other words, they cover a lot of territory, but don't expect mastery of a specific topic. They review what was covered the previous year and then build on it from there.
If you think you might need to put them back into public school down the road, then you may want to review the local school standards, to be sure there are no serious gaps.
Other Considerations:
Review sites such as Cathy Duffy are an extremely valuable resource. They help you decide what will be worth purchasing. It's easy to overpurchase, especially the first year.
4. Newbie mistakes
Do not attempt to recreate school at home. This will burn you both out. Relax, take a deep breath and remember you are homeschooling for a reason. If you are not sure about how to schedule or what to do, ask your child what their favorite subject or book is and create something around that. Unit studies that include science, math, language arts, and more are great for starting out. They include a little of everything and you can choose a topic they are actually interested in.
It may be tempting to buy a school-in-a-box set of curriculum, but avoid this if possible. While the individual pieces may be fantastic, all together they end up falling short in some aspects of what your child may need. By tailoring their curriculum individually, you are ensuring it is effective and interesting, which means less waste. In a school-in-a-box box set style, it is a shotgun approach, meaning, you may not use or need everything they send.
5. Join support groups
Just about every major curriculum has forum boards for questions. Check their websites, some authors will even respond directly to questions in emails. Homeschooling is a close-knit community, we rely on each other for information and support. The more you read and ask questions, the more comfortable you will feel.
Facebook Groups can be an information gold mine for new homeschoolers. If you are considering a certain curriculum, join their group, search your questions on the board first and see if it's been discussed, ask questions, respond to others, there are a ton of groups out there for you.
Local homeschool co-ops. Co-ops are your homeschooling neighbors. They are a great resource for having fun socializing with other families of similar values and providing a ton of ideas based on their own experiences. They can list local places to go for field trips and even go as a group for discounts.
Document your homeschool reading adventures by creating a reading tree. Each leaf has the title of a book read by yourself as a read aloud or your children. There are so many ways to do this, some temporary, some more permanent, painted, wall decals or with paper, let your imagination go wild.
Here are some ideas I've gathered as I work on mine.
Alphabet Tree by Dali Decals
How cool is this for a reading tree! You can choose the color of the trunk, 3 leaf colors and the size.
RoomMates Dotted Tree Peel & Stick Giant Wall Decal
Trace the leaves onto paper, for future cut-out use. Then write directly on the leaves with permanent marker. This one is colorful and the leaves are kind of chunky, great for if you want to add pictures or more information.
BIG Tree with Bird Wall Decal Deco Art Sticker Mural
This would be a more elegant option. You could write on each one with a silver or white permanent marker. This tree comes in all kinds of colors to match your room. Once filled you could create your own leaves to add color.
In the meantime what I've done is create a template of business card size tags and we're gluing them into his own reading book as we go. Every once in a while I will be asked to listen to a book, just to see if he can earn a tag. Here's a sample:
I made the reading book by printing a Dr. Seuss picture onto a piece of cardstock, folding it in half, adding blank paper and stapling in the middle. Super easy.
Here's the full PDF download.
The perfect art activity for sense of smell, learning fruits or just for fun.
The Recipe
Scratch and Sniff Paints
1 Tbsp unsweetened powdered drink mix
1 Tbsp warm water
Mix water and drink mix together. With this recipe you can paint pictures of fruit that will really smell like fruit. Allow finished paintings to dry overnight before scratching and sniffing.
For the end of our smelling part of our 5 senses I had the kids make scratch n sniff fruit. I used some of the those packets you put in water bottles for some of the flavors and Kool-Aid for others. I had them smell each one first and see if they can identify the fruit. Then I had them paint with the mixture onto a picture of the fruit. I had a bunch of flavors and fruits. After the first set, I stopped taking pictures to avoid Kool-Aid stains on the ceiling. :D I used Grape Kool-Aid packet, Strawberry Kool-Aid, Tang, Apple drink mix for water bottles, Cherry Kool-Aid, Tropical Fruit Kool-Aid, Welch's Dark Berry Water Bottle Packet, Country Time Lemonade (came out clear and didn't smell) and Blue Raspberry Kool-Aid just for fun.
First set of paints
From left to right: Grape, Strawberry, Orange and Apple
Statistics on Homeschooling Nations Report Card - National Center for Education Statistics - Statistics on States
Homeschool Progress Report 2009: Academic Achievement and Demographics - HSLDA Website Link or PDF
"Students in the United States rank 17th in the world in reading, 23rd in science, and 31st in mathematics on the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Our betters in math include Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland. Meanwhile, our economic competitors turn in performances that rank them at the top of global student achievement tests. We're far behind China, Singapore, Canada, Australia, and Japan—and we're increasingly aware of it." ACSD - Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
As I was creating my units I needed a place to keep track of all of the extras that I planned to supplement the lessons with. I created a tab in OneNote for this called Media list. Then I created a page for each unit that would give me an inventory of what I needed at-a-glance.
The first was titled Books and had 5 columns. For Title, Author, Subject, Location and Read. With the way I set up my unit study, I had science, math and other books all relating back to Ancient Civilizations. I needed to know what subject a book was for. The location would tell me whether it was at L (library) or BS (bookshelf) or A (need to purchase at Amazon ). The final column would keep track of what was read.
The second table was Videos. It had 4 columns titled Title, Subject, Location and Watched. It worked the same as the books. I just had abbreviations for Netflix, History Channel, DVR, Science Channel, Library and so on.
The third list was Online. It kept track of any interactives, online quizzes, flashcards, whatever I came across that I thought may be helpful for that unit. This was really nice when I had planned in advance and had a place to put links for later use. I could make sure they actually get found and used in time for the unit and not forgotten or lost.
A list like this can be a big help if you have a lot of media you plan to use. You can add additional tables for board games, puzzles, worksheets, anything you think you might want to use during a unit.
Update: My link is fixed! You should be able to download it as a Word document and edit all you want.
My absolute favorite unit planning template comes from Microsoft Office Templates. You can find it here. It looks like this:
You can add or change around the table in Word once you download it. One of the major benefits of OneNote is I can make my table as large as I want.
How I changed it to work for me:
I took the Materials Needed section and created an entirely separate table that was dedicated to projects/activities. I created a column for the subject the project is for, what the project objective is and a list of materials needed. That way when I'm ready to start that unit I have a handy shopping list ready.
I took some ideas from another form and changed the column titles.Instead of Teacher/Student Guide I made columns for Objectives, Curriculum Used, Other Resources (which for me means web links), Reading Materials and Verification (how to test knowledge when unit is complete).
On the same sheet I created a Vocabulary List for the entire unit.
You've chosen your curriculum, you know your goals and your ready to start homeschooling. So where do you start? A good plan can make a huge difference between a smooth successful start and a panicked morning of gathering materials and printing assignments.
You'll first need to decide what kind of planner system do you need? Online? Printed? What do you want to include? Web links? Do you like to do it all at once or little by little?
You can use a planner program or create your own. You have a few options.
Download a planner form or template.
Create your own in Word or Excel.
Use a computer program.
Workbox System
Fly by the seat of your pants and hope you don't get a burned bottom. :)
Her site may be a bit complicated, but so worth it! She has so many templates and forms in different fonts, you're sure to find something to fit your needs. Most of them are in Excel or Word format.
Ultimate Free Homeschool Deals has a bunch of links to downloadable/printable forms and planners. They have lots of cute styles to choose from.
FREE online lesson planner, scheduler, and tracking system. The system has an automatic scheduler so you don't have to do a thing if an activity/lesson is missed.
Plus version has a one time fee and includes enough extra flexibility through grading, tracking and sharing capabilities to make it worth checking out.
Try the free version or 30-day free plus trial
Workbox Systems
Once you've planned out your lessons. Look into an easy way to implement them. A popular way is the Workbox System. There's a bunch of information our there about this system. If your looking for inspiration, just Google Workbox System and look at all the beautiful organization.....sigh.
Sue Patrick's Workbox System
The Originator of the this system. She has a downloadable eBook to guide you through the process.
Sweet Phenomena
Beautiful Setup of the Workbox System using Ikea Storage.
The Easiest Lesson Plan
I'm not the most organized person, so I needed a system that would allow me to do most of the work upfront, but give me some flexibility in case we got behind in one subject. First I started with an overview of the plan for the year. I made an outline of what topics I planned to cover each month to make sure I didn't over or under schedule. I took a look at the curriculum and counted the number of chapters or pages and divided by 36 to get an idea of what would be required every week.
After a lot of trial and error, I finally found the simplest method was the one that would work for us. A basic table allows us to quickly view what is scheduled for the day with more of a do-the-next-thing type of planning. The subject tabs up top have more information than the general schedule. Many didn't need anything more than the table of contents to be copied and pasted and then have checkboxes next to each line. Some subjects required more thought and planning, using the side tabs for chapters or weeks.
I made these tables in OneNote so I can easily share the whole lesson plan with him on his laptop. In OneNote, I could make the table as large as I needed without being forced to stay at 8.5 x 11, giving me the flexibility I needed. I really think OneNote is an easy and flexible way to plan. You can enter videos, audio, pictures, and links directly into the page. By sharing your notebook through the web or network, everything that is updated on one notebook is instantly updated on the other. This helps your student gain some independence and still allowing you to monitor from a distance.
Create your own spiral notebooks with openable spines — perfect for creating notebooks, mini-notebooks, and binding those favorite ebooks you have saved to your computer. Learn more about the ProClick Binding Tool at NotebookingPages.com.
What is one thing many veteren homeschoolers cannot live without? Their ProClick! Create a planner for each one of your kids thats durable enough to make it through the year. Use it for creating a finished report or to print out a notebooking notebooks. Use it to share finished work with friends and family.
To prepare for the National Mythology Exam, here are some tests from previous years and materials.
NJCL National Junior Classic League has Academic Contests annually.
These are the past tests and every year is different, but the subjects stay the same.
Click here for all the tests.
The WorldWide Telescope (WWT) is a environment that enables your computer to function as a virtual telescope—bringing together imagery from the world’s best ground- and space-based telescopes for the exploration of the universe. WWT blends terabytes of images, information, and stories from multiple sources into a seamless, immersive, rich media experience delivered over the Internet. Students of all ages will feel empowered to explore and understand the cosmos using WWT’s simple and powerful user interface. Works with the interface of your home telescope, you can plot points on Excel and take a personal tour.
SLOOH - $
We’re pleased to announce a joint initiative with Google Sky to Map the Universe and co-promote live astronomy. All SLOOH member photos will now be integrated into Google Earth/Sky for the world to see, and SLOOH’s live missions will be featured as well. SLOOH also shares the view with schools throughout the world and your membership supports this educational outreach
Purchase an unlimited use card or by the minute with activity books.
2006 Parents' Choice Gold Award & National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) Honor Award & 2004 Duke’s Choice Award
Universe Sandbox - $
Create your own planets, change gravity, alter courses and see what happens
Mythology is a family favorite. We all enjoy learning about Mythology, not just Greek and Roman, but Egyptian, Norse, Chinese, Japanese and every other place you can think of. So, of course, I was so happy when I found the National Mythology Exam. So, I started looking into all the exams and here's what I found.
Medusa Mythology Exam - MME - Grades 6 and up
2012 Theme "Monsters and Malicious Mortals" The Medusa Exam is open to public, private, and home-school students. Public or private school students must be in the 6th grade or higher; home-school students must be ll years old. Latin, English, and home-school teachers are encouraged to enroll their interested students! While the exam has a different theme every year, the exam is always a 50-question, multiple-choice format, and students are allowed 40 minutes to complete the exam. Complete information regarding this year's theme will be posted August 1, 2011.
Cost: $3.00 per student plus a $15 school fee
National Latin ExamNLE Tests from Intro to Latin to Latin VI
The National Latin Exam is offered under the joint sponsorship of' the American Classical League and the National Junior Classical League. They are pleased to announce the 2012 ACL/NJCL National Latin Exam. More than 149,000 Latin students from all fifty states participated this year, as did students from thirteen foreign countries, including Australia, Mexico, Belgium, Canada, China Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Zimbabwe. This year for the first time, students from Bulgaria and Mozambique also took the NLE.
Cost: $4 per exam, $10 minimum plus $10 additional shipping
Science National Chemistry Olympiad Local Competitions - High School
Approximately 10,000 U.S. students between the ages of 13 and 18 enter local Chemistry Olympiad competitions. Exams are administered and coordinated by ACS local sections annually in March, and students are nominated for the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad competition based on exam scores and teacher recommendations.
Physics Bowl Website - High School
Each year, approximately 10,000 students take a 40-question, 45-minute timed, multiple-choice test under their school’s supervision. To enhance the distribution of awards, Division I is for first-year physics students and Division II is for second-year physics students. Each Division has 15 regions that have been established across the country to allow schools in each region to compete against one another. Specialized math and science schools compete in their own region. Registration Form PDF Home School: If you are home schooled a list of CEEB codes for your region is available on The College Board's PSAT/NMSQT Codes for Home-School Students page.
Team America Rocketry Challenge TARC Website
Students must design, build, and fly a one-stage model rocket carrying one raw egg to an altitude of exactly 750 feet while staying airborne for exactly 45 seconds and returning the egg uncracked. The process of designing, building, and flying a moderately complex flight vehicle teaches many concepts of teamwork as well as those of physics, engineering, aerodynamics, flight mechanics, stability, and electrical circuitry. After completing local qualification flights, the top 100 U.S.-based teams are invited to Virginia for a national final fly-off. How do homeschoolers enter this contest?
Homeschoolers can enter as part of a school team with permission of that school's principal, or they can enter by being part of a local chapter of a non-profit organization (Scouts, etc. but not an NAR or TRA club) outside of the school context. If there is a local organization specifically for homeschoolers and at least one of the students is a member of this, this counts as a "non-profit organization" as well. TARC Registration Opens September 8 More Physics Contests & Events
