Pre through K - Months of the year song

One of the things they teach in the public/private preschools is the months of the year.  They also do this in Kindergarten.  The song they sing at the school I work for is sung for you below by a little girl on YouTube.  (Note, it's just a video from Youtube, not anyone I know).  It's a very easy song that you and your child can sing at the start of your school day every day!



Know of other resources for teaching the months of the year? Share them in a comment below!  Don't forget to subscribe for more great ideas!

Phonics Blending Game - Magnets

Here is another great activity to do with your child who is learning to blend words!  Most dollar stores sell a set of cheap letter fridge magnets, so this is a cheap and easy game for parents to play with their kids if they don't already have the magnets.



Comment if you have more awesome activities to do with beginning readers!  Don't forget to subscribe for more great resources and ideas!

Phonics Blending Game - Pre through K

If you're teaching your child to read, then you will be teaching them how to blend phonics.  If they already know the sounds that each of the letters make individually, then this game will be a great way to start teaching them how to blend sounds together.  Just ran across it on YouTube today.



Do you know of any other great phonics games or activities for kids?  Let us know in a comment below, and don't forget to subscribe!

K-2 Printable Story Starters

Here is a link to some printable story starter for kids ages Kindergarten through 2nd grade.  These are great little writing prompts to get kids writing.  You could even ask them to elaborate on the stories they write to make them longer and turn it into a little four page book with pictures they draw and color.  You can also use these to help the kids learn about grammar and punctuation, help them learn their handwriting, and to teach them how to spice up their writing with adjectives, verbs, nouns, etc.  If your kids are learning cursive you could have them write these in cursive for practice.

So check out these awesome writing prompts HERE!

Mad Libs

I found this great site that has printable Mad Libs.  These fun little worksheets are a great way to help teach your kids about adjectives, nouns, verbs, etc.

Check it out!

http://www.classroomjr.com/printable-mad-libs-for-kids/

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for http://cbsbhomeschool.blogspot.com/

The privacy of our visitors to http://cbsbhomeschool.blogspot.com/ is important to us. 

At http://cbsbhomeschool.blogspot.com/, we recognize that privacy of your personal information is important. Here is information on what types of personal information we receive and collect when you use and visit http://cbsbhomeschool.blogspot.com/, and how we safeguard your information.  We never sell your personal information to third parties.
Log Files
As with most other websites, we collect and use the data contained in log files.  The information in the log files include  your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as AOL or Shaw Cable), the browser you used to visit our site (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox), the time you visited our site and which pages you visited throughout our site.
Cookies and Web Beacons
We do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site.  This could include only showing you a popup once in your visit, or the ability to login to some of our features, such as forums.
We also use third party advertisements on http://cbsbhomeschool.blogspot.com/ to support our site.  Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google AdSense program) information including your IP address, your ISP , the browser you used to visit our site, and in some cases, whether you have Flash installed.  This is generally used for geotargeting purposes (showing New York real estate ads to someone in New York, for example) or showing certain ads based on specific sites visited (such as showing cooking ads to someone who frequents cooking sites).
You can chose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in programs such as Norton Internet Security.  However, this can affect how you are able to interact with our site as well as other websites.  This could include the inability to login to services or programs, such as logging into forums or accounts.   
* Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on your site.
* Google’s use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to your users based on their visit to your sites and other sites on the Internet.
* Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy.

AdSense Privacy Policy Provided by JenSense

Looking For Another Author

CBSB Homeschool is looking for a dedicated home school parent (or two) who would like to become a regular contributer to this blog.

This is a non-paid position.

As a regular contributer, you would write articles about homeschooling, write and submit lesson plans, and submit free homeschooling resources to the site.  We would require that you could submit at least one article a month to be a regular contributer, but would welcome more articles a month.

Again this would be a non-paid position but would be something you would do out of a love for homeschooling children and because you want other parents to have access to the resources you have and access to your knowledge of homeschooling.

If you would like to become a contributer, please leave a comment below.  Make sure you are signed in to your Google or blogger account so that we know how to get a hold of you.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Science - Earthquakes/Tsunamis

Earthquakes and Tsunami's go hand in hand, which is why I have combined the two topics into one post.  Below you will find resources to teach your student about these two topics, starting with a short playlist of videos found on Youtube.  As always I would suggest that the parent watches the videos ahead of time so that they can prepare for any questions their child will have when watching them.

Science - Volcanoes

Volcanoes are on of those wonders of nature to me, and have been since I first learned about them as a child. Below are some resources and ideas to get your children interested in the science of Geomorphology and Volcanism.



Volcano Playlist (below): A note to parents: I would watch the videos in the playlist below ahead of time so that you can anticipate some of your child's questions ahead of time and do some research to answer those questions.  Also be aware that these are not Christian videos and cover subjects such as plate techtonics (ex. pangea) as well as say things like "fifty billion years ago."  Another great time to cover Genesis with your child and explain the difference between biblical views and world views in common science.

Site Facelift

You may have noticed that CBSB Homeschool has undergone a dramatic facelift.  Since this is a site revolving around children we felt that the site needed to reflect that more.  Our aim was to have a friendly, uplifting, joyous atmosphere for our visitors, as well as a more easy to use interface.

Feel free to browse around and let us know what you think of the change in a comment below!

Also, if you have any suggestions for the site, you are always free to leave them in a comment for us!

Ultimate Reading Videos

I know it's been a while since I've updated and added new content to CBSB Homeschool.  But I am excited to share with you this YouTube playlist I've been using to teach my 3.5 year old daughter to read.  She's been watching some of these videos since she was about 2 years old, but I've been steadily adding videos and now the playlist is huge.

Click on the link to go to the playlist on YouTube where you can view full screen, or check out the embedded video box below.

Reading With Ruby

Check out some of the new reading videos we've made here at CBSB!  Let us know what you think!

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for http://cbsbhomeschool.blogspot.com/

The privacy of our visitors to http://cbsbhomeschool.blogspot.com/ is important to us. 

At http://cbsbhomeschool.blogspot.com/, we recognize that privacy of your personal information is important. Here is information on what types of personal information we receive and collect when you use and visit http://cbsbhomeschool.blogspot.com/, and how we safeguard your information.  We never sell your personal information to third parties.
Log Files
As with most other websites, we collect and use the data contained in log files.  The information in the log files include  your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as AOL or Shaw Cable), the browser you used to visit our site (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox), the time you visited our site and which pages you visited throughout our site.
Cookies and Web Beacons
We do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site.  This could include only showing you a popup once in your visit, or the ability to login to some of our features, such as forums.
We also use third party advertisements on http://cbsbhomeschool.blogspot.com/ to support our site.  Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google AdSense program) information including your IP address, your ISP , the browser you used to visit our site, and in some cases, whether you have Flash installed.  This is generally used for geotargeting purposes (showing New York real estate ads to someone in New York, for example) or showing certain ads based on specific sites visited (such as showing cooking ads to someone who frequents cooking sites).
You can chose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in programs such as Norton Internet Security.  However, this can affect how you are able to interact with our site as well as other websites.  This could include the inability to login to services or programs, such as logging into forums or accounts.

* Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on your site.
* Google’s use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to your users based on their visit to your sites and other sites on the Internet.
* Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy.

AdSense Privacy Policy Provided by JenSense

Literactive - Teaching Kids To Read Online

In teaching my two and a half year old daughter to read, I stumbled upon literactive, a free online service with games and e-books.

Literactive is sort of like starfall.com (mentioned in an earlier post) with some differences.  Literactive has many free online books for your child to read along with, and if there is a word your child doesn't understand, you can click on the word and it will sound it out in a number of different ways.

While the animations and site design of literactive may not be as visually appealing as starfall.com, Literactive is still definitely a site you want to keep in your online arsenal for teaching children to read.

The site does require that you register before you can view any of their game or online e-books, but registration is free, and information is kept confidential.

Visit Literactive today and watch as your child giggles his or her way through the books and games.  http://www.literactive.com/Download/stories.asp?cat=31

Blessings!


Know of other free reading resources?  Post them in a comment below!

Starfall Learn To Read

We've been teaching my 2 and a half year old daughter to read (she loves it) and I came across this website online the other night.  It is truly a wonderful online tool to teach your children to read.  It's a step by step process, and you can jump in wherever your child is at.  It has some neat animations and videos, along with games and online books for you and your child to enjoy together.  5/5 stars for this free site!

http://www.starfall.com/  this is the main site.

http://www.starfall.com/n/level-k/letter-b/load.htm?f  this is an example of their letters program (step 1).  Keep clicking through until it's finished and redirects you back to the main site.

Blessings!


Know of free resources to help teach children to read?  Let us know in a comment below!

Coloring Pages

The site Kid Resource (kidabc.com) has a page full of some great coloring page resources!  Check them out HERE.

Notice: Kid Resource is not a Christian site, so some of the coloring pages link to characters such as Harry Potter coloring pages.  There are also Bible coloring pages, ABC and Sesame street coloring pages amongst the links however, so some of them are educational.

Blessings!

Scientfic Method - Kitchen Labs

I'm a big fan of learning one concept in multiple ways. Studying a book is fine, listening to a lecture is great, but I'm a do-er. That being said, here is a neat way to teach the scientific method to your student. The great thing about this is that you can customize it to fit your needs and your child's interests!

First, go over what the scientific method is with your child. The basics of it are:

1. Define the question

2. Gather information and resources (observe)

3. Form hypothesis

4. Perform experiment and collect data

5. Analyze data

6. Interpret data and draw conclusions that serve as a starting point for new hypothesis

7. Publish results (Or write a report)

8. Retest (frequently done by other scientists)

More information and examples can be found online.

Next, pick a fun recipe such as oatmeal cookies, homemade candy, or something similar that will interest your student. The recipe should have at least 5 ingredients in it.

You can do this over a few days or even over an entire week. The following is just a suggested outline for the lesson.

Monday - 

1) Go over the scientific method with your child. 

2) Go into the kitchen and with your child, and show them the recipe you will be making.

3) Ask your child to define a question.  Example: What will these cookies turn out like if we follow the recipe exactly?

4) Gather any information you might have such as previous experiences with this recipe and how it turned out before.

5) Ask your child to formulate a hypothesis about how the cookies or recipe will turn out. Get them to use words like: It will taste good, it will smell good, it will be brown, it will feel bumpy, etc. Let them form their own hypothesis using their five senses.  They should write their hypothesis down.

6) Make the recipe you chose exactly as the recipe states. 

7) Interpret the data when the recipe is done.  Have them use their five senses to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell the product.

8) Have them write down what their findings were, and if it was close to their hypothesis or different from it.  You can also have them draw a picture of what the final product turned out like, or take a picture with a camera, print it out, and attach it to the findings.

Tuesday - 

Follow the same steps as above, only this time let your child choose an ingredient in the recipee (example: eggs), and define a different question.  Example: What will happen if I put two eggs in the cookie recipe instead of three?

Have them formulate their hypothesis for this new modified recipe and follow all of the steps done on Monday.

Wednesday - 

You will be doing the same thing as Monday, only again you will be modifying a different ingredient.  Example: What happens if I use 1/2 cup of flower instead of 1 cup of flower.  Or, what happens if I use 1 cup of flower instead of 1/2 cup of flower.  Or, what happens if I add M&M's to the recipe instead of raisins?  What happens if I cook it for 5 minutes longer than the recipe says to?  This is where the fun part comes in, because you and your student can come up with many ways to modify the recipe.

Follow all of the steps done previously in writing down and forming a hypothesis, creating the food, observing the food, and writing a report about findings and how they compare to the hypothesis.

Thursday -

Same as above, modifying a different ingredient.

Friday - 

Same as above, modifying a different ingredient.  

Have your student compile all of the research they've done so far (with pictures if they have them), and write a slightly longer report of the overall findings.  Example: In the report have them answer questions such as:

A Hypothesis is:

The steps in the scientific method are:

On Monday we did:

On Tuesday we did:

Sometimes my hypothesis was wrong ____example

When we did this to the recipe the cookies turned out like ______

Etc.

If you want to do something extra, you can buy some poster board or project board (dollar store), and have them paste one sheet of paper for each day with a picture of the finished product, the recipe, the hypothesis, and the results.  Then they can do a small presentation to you or the family about their science project.

Note: Public speaking is a big deal in both public and private schools, and so adding in little verbal reports now and again is a great way to make your student feel comfortable standing in front of an audience and presenting information.  This is important because in college this will be required in many classes, and the same is true for some careers.

I hope this science lesson has given you some ideas!  During my time as a student teacher this is something I saw done in the third grade, and the fourth grade.  

You can find many recipes online, but below are some links to some that will work good for this experiment.  The great thing is this can be done several times with different recipes if you and your student have fun with it.  Cookies one week, brownies the next, candy the next.

Basic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Basic Hard Candy

Brownies

Blueberry Muffins

Blessings!

Important Warning: Not that you need to hear it, but just in case: Remember that mom or dad should be the one to put things into the oven or pull them out, and that care should be taken around a hot stove or pot or pan.  Also, treats should be thoroughy cooled before children observe by tasting or touching them.  We don't want any injuries of our little ones.

Counting

Here is a playlist of great counting and basic math videos.  I think the key here is repetition and practice.  Cartoons make counting seem like fun!  Thanks to the videos on this list, my 2 year old can count backwards and forwards in English and Spanish to 12.

Of course young children may not be able to sit through so many videos on one subject.  For a wider variety of children's learning videos on playlists, please see our Pre-K page!

Counting




Blessings!

Word World

These little cartoons by PBS are a fun and wonderful way to teach your children some basic phonics.  Children at this age may  not want to sit and watch video after video of one cartoon, but these are all Word World cartoons on this playlist.  For a wider variety of cartoons in one playlist, please see the Pre-K page.

Note: This list just contains a few cartoons.  You can go onto Youtube and search for more Word World videos if you want more.

Word World




Blessings!

ABC Videos

This playlist is dedicated solely to ABC's.  Note: Your child will probably not want to watch a bunch of ABC videos all in a row, but these have been separated out so that you can add them to your own personal YouTube playlists.  For a playlist with a wider variety of learning cartoons such as numbers, colors, shapes, and feelings, check out the playlists on the Pre-K page.

ABC's