Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books – 2nd Time Through

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).
Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books – 2nd Time Through

We are pretty relaxed/eclectic homeschoolers, but one subject we’ve continued to approach in a more orderly manner over the years is history. We start at the beginning of time and then work through all of history to the present day. Rinse and repeat!

As I’ve stated many times in past posts our main approach to learning history has been through reading living books. This has been a very rewarding way to learn history and has helped me and my kids have a more full picture of history, rather than just learning and regurgitating important dates.

This year we have also added in The Mystery of History as our spine. It’s been a nice addition for us!

This past fall we started the whole history cycle again beginning with Ancient History. And we just recently finished going through Ancient Egypt for the 2nd time. (Here are the activities we did and books we read the first time we studied Ancient Egypt four years ago.)

History Timeline

For the past four years we’ve put all significant historical events on our history timeline (we did this using butcher paper and having the kids draw the events on the paper.)

Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books
Having fun with our giant timeline on butcher paper

Since we started the whole history cycle again this past fall, I decided we’d change it up, so instead of drawing historical events on butcher paper, I bought each of the kids their own timeline book. They are really enjoying the timeline books so far!

Big sister (9th grade!) is actually taking world history (using this curriculum) at a local co-op this year, so she doesn’t typically join in on our read-alouds, but she IS doing the timeline book with her younger brothers.

Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books
Three different interpretations of King Tut
List of Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books (2nd Time Around)

Here are the books we did as read-alouds for Ancient Egypt this year. 

The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt

The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone

Unwrapping the Pharaohs: How Egyptian Archaeology Confirms the Biblical Timeline

Tirzah

To find even more books, check out our book list from the first time we studied Ancient Egypt.

And here are our booklists for Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.

Happy reading and learning!

 

 

 

Share this!

Early American History Book List

Early American History Book List

For purposes of this blog post, we’ll say Early American History covers the landing of the Pilgrims (1620) through the early 1800s.

Some key events that took place during these years include: the Pilgrims coming over from England and colonies eventually getting established, the birth of a new country and the Revolutionary War (and the French Revolution), and the establishment of our new country’s government (constitution and government).

There are so many books that cover this time period. We use mostly living books. I’m only including books we read but there are so many to choose from! 

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Reference Books/Biographies

We purchased many of the following through Beautiful Feet Books, specifically their Early American History packs, and Amazon.

A Child’s First Book of American History  by Earl Schenck Miers and illustrated by James Daugherty. This is a nice big book with big print and cool illustrations that focuses solely on American History. Good for all ages.

A Child’s History of the World by Virgil M. Hillyer.  A great overview of history. 

Picture Books

(These are best suited for the younger elementary years, but I read them to my older kids too!)

BenjaminFranklin by Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaire

George Washington by Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaire

The Fourth of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh

Winter at Valley Forge by James Knight 

GEORGE VS. GEORGE: The American Revolution as Seen from Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer

Shh! We’re writing the Constitution by  Jean Fritz

A More Perfect Union by Betsy and Giulio Maestro

Dear Benjamin Banneker by Andrea Davis Pinkney

A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley by Kathryn Lasky

Books for Later Elementary and Middle School:

The World of William Penn by Genevieve Foster

Poor Richard by James Daugherty

George Washington’s World by Genevieve Foster

Why Not, Lafayette by Jean Fritz

Pilgrim Stories by Margaret Pumphrey

Remember the Ladies by Jeri Chase Ferris
 

Turning back the pages of time booklet by Kathy Keller (This is a great booklet to have on hand.  It has lists of booklists on early American History.)

Historical Fiction:

Amos Fortune Free Man by Elizabeth Yates

Fearless by Elvira Woodruff (Not pictured. Also not specifically American history but takes place in England in 1700 – and so it was neat to read a book taking place at the same time in a different part of the world.)

Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes

Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Latham

The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz (not pictured)

Phoebe the Spy by Judith Berry Griffin (chapter book for younger kids)

Matchlock Gun by Walt Edmonds (chapter book for younger kids)

Other Resources to Study American History

Chalk Pastel

Drive Thru History

Check out my other history book lists!

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Greece

Ancient Rome

Middle Ages

Reformation and Renaissance

And…  How We Do History – Textbook Free!

 

Share this!

Lewis and Clark Salt-Dough Map

Lewis and Clark Salt-Dough Map

Homeschooling and salt dough maps go together like peanut butter and jelly. They are the ultimate hands-on way to learn geography AND history. But they can also seem like a daunting activity, especially if you are averse to a mess.  Have you ever made one? A salt-dough map that is, not a mess! 😉

Before I had ever done a salt dough map I had made them out to be much more complicated than they were.  Then we did our first salt-dough map while studying Ancient Egypt. It was a wild success!

Recently, while studying Lewis and Clark’s expedition, the thought of doing another salt-dough map seemed like a great idea. We could map out their expedition, even showing the different terrain they had traversed over. And so we made another one! I don’t know why I waited a few years to do another salt-dough map, as they really aren’t that difficult and the kids love them!

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you.)
Here is how we made a Lewis and Clark salt-dough map, using items we had in the house!
  1. We needed something for the base.  Not overcomplicating things we used a large cereal box and cut an opening flap using a utility knife.
  2. We went online to find a map of the United States. We printed out the size we wanted (we just did the one-pager!)  Then my younger son colored the back of the map using a black piece of chalk.  We then flipped it over and traced the outline of the map (we actually traced a little bit beyond the outline of the map, because we wanted it just a tad bigger…).  Now we had the outline of the map on the cereal box base! Don’t be like me and overthink this part.  It does not have to be perfect!
  3. We mixed up the salt dough: 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 cup water. (If it’s too sticky you can add more flour; if it’s too dry, add more water). Mix and knead it for a few minutes.
  4. Now the fun part – spreading the salt dough out to fill in the map, and make sure the mountains were in the right spots. We printed out a physical map to help guide us in how to shape the moutnains, plains and valleys.
  5. Before letting the map dry, we stuck toothpicks into the main locations we wanted to highlight on the map (we used a timeline from this book to help us pick those locations.) We pulled the toothpicks out right away, but the holes were there for when it dried. We labeled our toothpicks at this time, but you can do it later too. Lewis and Clark Salt Dough Map

*Then we let it air dry for 48 hours.*

6. Next we painted the map. We used the same physical map of the U.S. (linked above) to help guide us in how to paint it. Lewis and Clark Salt Dough Map

7. We then stuck our labeled toothpicks back into the salt dough map.Lewis and Clark Salt Dough MapLewis and Clark Salt Dough MapAnd here’s the final product!Lewis and Clark Salt Dough Map


 

Share this!

Comparing the Reformation and Renaissance

We studied the Reformation and the Renaissance at the same time. While working up a list of all the books we used to learn about these time periods, I realized it might be helpful to note the differences and similarities between the two periods.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).
Two different movements happening at the same time

While these two time periods happened simultaneously, they are very different from one another. This is a point that many know. However, if you are studying this for the first time with your kids, it may not be as obvious to you. The Reformation was a religious revolution, and the Renaissance was a secular movement and had to do with the revolution of ideas. The book that I leaned on heavily as a resource to understand these differences, and I highly recommend, is “How Should We Then Live?” by Francis Schaeffer.

Both movements followed the Middle Ages

Both the Renaissance and the Reformation followed the Middle Ages, a darker time of not as much growth.  The printing press did not exist in the Middle Ages, and books were not readily available. Literacy rates were below 20%, with mostly the wealthy having access to education and books. During the Middle Ages, people did not have ready access to Bibles to teach themselves scripture, or to other books to learn new things. This was soon to change during the time periods of the Renaissance and the Reformation.

The Renaissance – a secular movement, “rebirth” of ideas

The Renaissance and Reformation were both leaving “tradition” but did so in different ways. Renaissance, which literally means “rebirth” was a secular movement focusing on new ideas, music, art, philosophy, etc.   The Renaissance introduced us to the idea of humanism, that is man is at the center of his universe. Obviously, humanism is directly at odds with the Bible. This is one way the Reformation was markedly different than the Renaissance.

The Reformation – Gettings back to the basics of the Bible

Ultimately the Reformation was about getting back to the basics of what the Bible said. When we think of the Reformation, we often think about the Roman Catholic church splitting into Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. For me personally, when I think of the Reformation I picture Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to that door.  It’s important to note the Reformation already had stirrings for quite some time before this. My favorite book from the book list we used was Morning Star of the Reformation. It is about John Wycliffe who lived from 1320-1384 (long before Martin Luther!)

The Printing Press – a common denominator for both movements

While these time periods were very different from one another, they did have some similarities. They were both leaving tradition and both were heavily impacted by the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press around 1440. Below is a list of books we used to learn more about these time periods.

Book List

How Should We Then Live?

A Child’s History of the World

Trumpeter of Krakow

Morning Star of the Reformation

The Golden Book of the Renaissance

Columbus

The World of Columbus and Sons

Shakespeare Stories

Little Pilgrim’s Progress 

Pilgrim’s Progress Movie  (free on Youtube)

Martin Luther

Luther Movie

Joan of Arc Movie

Check out my other history book lists!

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Greece

Ancient Rome

Middle Ages

And, how we do history, textbook free!

Share this!

Gift-guide: 16 ideas for a child with dyspraxia

Gift-guide: 16 Ideas for a Child with Dyspraxia

They are so many great gift ideas for a child with dyspraxia. Gifts that will help them build skills AND have fun at the same time!

Find some of our favorites below!

Gift Ideas Dyspraxia

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Building/STEM Toys / Builds hand-eye coordination and imagination (often a strength of dyspraxic kiddos.)

Twister / Great for learning right/left directions and developing balance.

Balance board / A fun way to practice, you guessed it, balancing!

Trampoline / Provides HOURS of fun. Helps kids develop strength, balance and coordination. If your kids are little, you can find small indoor trampolines. We did that for many years before we graduated to one like this:

Sit n spin / Great for little ones to develop their core muscles and balance.

 

Bop it! / Helps kiddos develop a faster processing speed. Often kids with dyspraxia have a slower processing speed.

Pop-beads / Helps with hand strength and dexterity.

Story Cubes / This gift idea focuses on one of the strengths often found in kids with dyspraxia – imagination and creativity! 

 

Ring toss / Good for developing hand-eye coordination.

 

Nerf ball / A non-intimidating way for an older child to practice throwing and catching.

Magnetic darts / Good for developing hand-eye coordination and overhand movement.

Badminton / Great for practicing hand-eye coordination and team play. 

Table Tennis / Good for hand-eye coordination and a little competition.

Jump rope – Good for developing strength and coordination. My kids have found the beaded jump ropes to be easier to use (especially when just starting out!)

Bag Toss – Good for developing hand-eye coordination and throwing skills.

 

 

Share this!

Advent Family Read-Alouds

I love all things Christmas – the lights, the music, the food, and the festivities! It is my favorite time of year. And yes, I do start listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving – I just love it. 🙂

Yesterday was the start of Advent.  The word “advent” stems from the word adventus which means coming or arrival –  referring to Christ coming as a babe in a manger and his eventual coming again. Something which should give us great hope!

Our family has many Christmas traditions, such as decorating the tree, baking, giving gifts, the Jesse tree, etc., but one of our favorites is our Advent read-aloud. We have found a series of books we love. And this year we are reading the 4th and final book in this Advent series.

We started this series in 2015 when our oldest was in 2nd grade. It is always one of the highlights of the season for us and helps to get and keep our hearts focused on the reason for the season.

Note: These books are historical fiction, and like any historical fiction book, the author has done research to give you a good idea of what life was like during that time and includes true facts, but many creative liberties are also taken.

These advent storybooks, all by Arnold Ytreeide, are listed below. The books intertwine with one another which creates an even more interesting storyline.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Advent Familiy Read-Alouds

Advent Family Read-Alouds

Jotham’s Journey (available on audiobook too!)

We’ve had this book the longest, and even though we’ve read it a few times as a family, each year I’ll catch my kids re-reading it.

Jotham is a young shepherd boy who gets separated from his family and eventually discovers the Christ child in the stable.

Bartholomew’s Passage

Bartholomew is a young fishermen who gets separated from his family and undergoes many adventures, eventually leading to the stable in Bethlehem.

Tabitha’s Travels 

Tabitha is the daughter of a shepherd and encounters many adventures and in the end finds her way to the manger.

Ishtar’s Odyssey

Ishtar is the son of a Persian wise man and adventures across the desert, following the star to Bethlehem.

How to read through the books:

Ideally, you start the 4th Sunday before Advent and read a section each day. But really, you can modify it to work for your family! Sometimes we have days where we can’t all gather and read at the same time, and so we’ll read two sections the next day.  Sometimes we read it at night and other times during the day.  Each chapter ends as a cliffhanger so the kids are always excited to read more.

The books all have between 150 – 200 pages and the recommended age is 8+. The books can be intense at times, so keep that in mind for sensitive readers.


 

 

 

 

 

Share this!

Homeschool Curriculum Picks for 2021-2022

Our Homeschool Curriculum Picks for 2021-2022

This year we have an 8th grader, a 6th grader, and a 2nd grader. Below are our curriculum picks for the 2021-2022 year.

This year I used Plan Your Year: Homeschool Planning for Purpose and Peace by Pam Barnhill while planning and found it to be helpful in organizing and prioritizing our goals for the year. As the kids get older, there are more opportunities for things to get involved in, and the ideas in this book helped me form a framework that has allowed me to see more clearly what activities to say yes and no to. 

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Curriculum Picks for 2021-2022

Curriculum Picks 2021-2022

8th Grade:

Handwriting:

Getty Dubay Handwriting – Calligraphy

Writing:

I take more of an unschooling approach to writing with this kiddo. She does write often on her own, mainly fan fiction. She also writes for her creative writing class at our new co-op. As a natural writer, she loves to write and does best when she does so in a real-life setting that has a purpose.

Reading/Language Arts:

Last year, she finished all of the books in the Life of Fred Language Arts series.

We are doing a couple of different book clubs this year. This has been a great fit as she has been challenged to read books she wouldn’t normally read and also has the joy of getting to discuss them with others.

Math:

Life of Fred – Algebra: She’s still going strong with Life of Fred, and so we continue to use it.

Music:

Continued piano lessons

Choir and viola through a local music academy (this is new to us this year and has been a great addition to our schedule)

Visual and Performing Arts:

Participation in local theater productions..

This winter, she’ll be signing up for an online animation class.

6th Grade:

Handwriting:

Getty Dubay Handwriting

Writing:

We are continuing to use Writeshop which has been an amazing fit for this kiddo. It’s the perfect combination of fun and structure and we’ve really enjoyed using it. Writeshop includes grammar practice, presented in a colorful way. 🙂

We also do creative journal entries and have introduced some dictation this year (Dictation is when I read a few sentences from a book that he’s reading on his own and he has to copy what he hears into a journal.) Dictation is a gentle and natural way to practice spelling and punctuation/capitalization.

Reading/Language Arts:

Explode the Code – After many years, he just finished this series. 🙂

Book-wise, this kiddo usually has a good idea of what he wants to read. He spends a couple of hours a day reading, and these are some of his favorite series. 

Math:

Masterbooks math – This is our main math curriculum for this child.

Math-It – He does this once a week to stay on top of his math facts.

Making friends with numbers – We discovered this fun workbook this past summer and it’s been a great resource for extra practice with multiplication facts.

Music

Piano lessons 

Choir and recorder/drums/ukelele class through a local music academy.

2nd Grade:

Handwriting:

Getty Dubay

Writing:

Journal entries (very basic and as he wants to)

Reading/Language Arts:

Read aloud with me.

Independent Reading/Audiobooks 

Explode the Code

Math:

The Good and the Beautiful Math – I received this at a discounted price last year and he enjoys it so we’ve continued to use it!

Math-It: We use this for daily math facts practice

STEM:

Kiwi Crates  – Every month we get a kiwi crate in the mail and it is always a highlight for this kiddo. 

For Everyone:

**The following subjects we do together during our “morning time”. We generally do Bible and History every day, and then loop/rotate the other subjects. This helps me stay sane! 🙂

Bible:

Picture-Smart Bible – We are almost done with the new testament, and will be moving to the old soon.

History:

Living Books exploring U.S. History. We plot the major events on our timeline as we go.  Most of our books were purchased through Beautiful Feet Books – New Early American Intermediate Pack. We also got some from the middle and high school packs.

A Child’s History of the World by Virgil M. Hillyer and A Child’s First Book of American History by Earl Schenck Miers – Our history spines to read alongside the Living Books. 

**For a more comprehensive post on how we homeschool history check out this post: Homeschooling History Without a Text Book!

Science:

No Sweat Nature Study – It is mainly the younger two doing this.

Guest Hollow Anatomy – This has been a lot of fun so far. All three kids are enjoying it (I pick and choose from both the junior and high school curriculums.) We especially love the hands-on projects!

curriculum picks 2021-2022

Latin:

Getting Started With Latin by William E. Linney, though rather plain, has been a great fit for us. The pace at which the lessons move has worked really well. 

Art:

Living Art Lessons – The boys and I are working through this book. It is pretty much an open-and-go art program and we are really enjoying it.  We just finished up learning all about ‘lines’.

 

Share this!

Book Series for Christian Kids

Book Series for Christian Kids

I often get the question, “Do you have any suggestions for Christian book series?” And while I am not aware of ALL that’s available in this genre, I do have some series that have been a hit in our household!

Some of these books are not explicitly Christian, but have strong Christian themes or are heavily influenced by Christian thought.  

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Four Book Series for Christian Kids

Spirit Flyer Series

These beloved books by John Bibee have been around for many years! The first book of this eight-book series was written in 1983 and is called the Magic Bicycle. Until recently, these books were hard to find. But recently they have gone into print again and you can easily find them on Amazon.  The Spirit Flyer books are full of adventure and Christian allegory. My son LOVED these books. 

Ideal age range: 4th-7th grade     

Growly Series

The Growly Series follows the adventures of a young coming-of-age bear named Growly. They are not specifically “Christian” books but are wholesome, well-written, and will captivate the adventure-seeking reader. There are five books in this series.  The first three books comprise the “Growly Trilogy”.  These include Begin, Widewater, and Morning.  You could also choose to start with either the 4th or 5th book, as stand-alone books.

Ideal age range: 8-12 years

Version 1.0.0
Green Ember Series

My 11-year-old son is in the middle of reading this series right now and cannot put them down! These books follow the adventures of two young rabbits, Heather and Picket. While not specifically Christian, there are Christian themes throughout the book – friendship, redemption, sacrifice to name a few! This nine-book (and growing!) series is considered to be a favorite among many readers, and lots of families love it as a read-aloud.

Ideal age range: 8+

The Amazing Tales of Max and Liz & Epic Order of the Seven

Jenny L. Cote has masterfully crafted the genre of Christian Historical Fiction.  The first series: ‘The Amazing Tales of Max and Liz’, includes two books and takes you through many of the events that take place in the book of Genesis, from an animal’s point of view. 🙂

Then her next series: ‘Epic Order of the Seven’ continues the journey of Max and Liz – starting with the birth of Christ, and then moving through the New Testament. And following that, their adventures cover the American Revolution (basically starting another series within a series!)  We are anxiously waiting for her next book which is to be released next year in 2022!

This captivating series is perfect for animal lovers AND history buffs! When we are studying history during our morning time, I am often impressed by how much history my son has already learned from these books.

Ideal age range: 10 +

 

Share this!

Book List 7th Grade Girl

If left to her own ways, my daughter, who loves to read, would settle in on modern fantasy books alone. And so, we came up with a compromise that worked quite well last year (her 7th-grade year.)

I created a list of books that I’d like her to read by end of 8th grade. I had her choose a book from that list each month for independent reading. These were in addition to her other favorites that she reads… and re-reads. 🙂

Most of these books started off slow for her but were appreciated by the time she got to the end.

The books on this list can be read by boys or girls, and also kids younger or older than 7th grade.  These just happen to be the (assigned) books she read during her 7th-grade year.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Book List for a 7th Grade Girl

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

Historical Fiction Novel that takes place in 12th century Korea. I had hoped to do this one as a family read-aloud for the Middle Ages, but we did not get around to it, so I was glad she picked this one!

Book List 7th grade girl

Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter

A classic story about a disabled orphan who overcomes much.

Book List 7th grade girl

A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter

Sequel to Freckles.  This well-loved story is about a poor girl whose love for nature leads her to extraordinary circumstances.

Book List 7th grade girl
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

This is an adventure story about a boy and his beloved hunting dogs.

Book List 7th grade girl

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

This classic children’s fantasy novel was written in the 1800s and has stood the test of time. Written by George MacDonald whose works inspired and influenced C.S. Lewis.

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

Another historical fiction piece that takes place in the Middle Ages. This was a favorite of hers!

Book List 7th grade girl

Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight

Book List 7th grade girl

Sophia’s War: A Tale of the Revolution by Avi

Historical Fiction novel that takes place during the Revolutionary War.

Book List 7th grade girl

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Book List 7th grade girl

The Giver by Lois Lowry

(Not technically assigned but was received as a gift during the summer and ended up being a favorite!)

Book List 7th grade girl

 

Share this!

Practical Ways to Stoke the Fire of Learning

Practical Ways to Stoke the Fire of Learning

And inspire your child to become a learner for life!

In her book “Teaching from Rest” Sarah Mackenzie references the quote, “Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.” She goes on to say “…but we must remember that a fire does indeed need to be lit, and then stoked, or else it will burn out.”

There indeed is a balance between pushing your child too much and not pushing enough, and keeping the fire stoked is part of that balancing act.

In this post, I lay out some practical ways you can stoke the fire.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Practical Ways to Stoke the Fire

Recognize the spark.

Before you can stoke the fire in your child’s learning, you have to first recognize what sparks their interest. For some children, their interests are much more obvious. If it’s not so obvious, ask yourself: What motivates them? What types of things do they get excited about? If they had loads of free time, how would they spend it? Consider the ways they are “smart”, as that likely could shine a light on what their interests may be. 

Provide resources and opportunities.

The easiest (and cheapest!) way to provide resources is using your local library.  Find books on the topics of their choosing.  Show them youtube videos relating to their interest. Are there classes (online or in-person) they can sign up for that will help them grow and learn more? Are there simple things you can buy (or find for free) that can cultivate their learning? 

Ex: Some kids love taking things apart… You could find old appliances/computers for them to do so.

Provide time.

Allow time in your schedule to give them space to explore, wonder and create. What does your day look like? Is it scheduled to the hilt? If so, consider paring back a little to give margin so they have more breathing room to explore and dive into their interests. More time also allows for more conversations that can cultivate a culture of curiosity and wonder. 

Help them set goals.

Goals give us something to shoot for.  It can move us out of a place of laziness/complacency to action.  Are there goals you can set with your child to help them grow? A goal could be as simple as completing a project related to their interest or taking a class to grow their skills. 

Expose them to a variety of subjects and topics.

I think this point is especially important for those kiddos whose interests aren’t as obvious.  By giving a buffet of learning, we can see what interests stick. During Covid, we started to hike more as a family.  My son, whose previous interest (for YEARS!) was weather, became very interested in maps, hiking, geography, and state parks as a result. 

Tie it into the other subjects when possible.

Now, this is obviously not always possible. But when you can, tie their interests into other subjects.  Are they interested in cooking? Then find out what foods they ate in different periods of history and what they eat in different parts of the world. Minecraft (or any building activity)? Have them create builds related to what they’re learning.  Drawing/art? They can draw pictures related to what they’re learning about history/other topics (Chalkpastel.com is great for this!)

You get the idea.

Give them opportunities to teach others what they know.

In his book, Passion-Driven Education, Connor Boyack refers to this teaching of others as the protégé effect. The protégé effect is an idea introduced by Roman philosopher Seneca.  Seneca said, “While we teach, we learn.”

This could be teaching to younger siblings, or family members, or friends. It could be formal or informal. The point is when you teach something you learn it on a different level. It propels you to a place where you really know and own the information.

Ask what they would like to learn about.

This is simple, but you could just ask your child what they would like to learn about.  Chances are you already know, but you may be surprised! 

Books I recommend related to this topic:

Share this!