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Successful Learning

You want your children to succeed in their education. We do too. We offer practical tips for teaching your children math, science, writing, and more! These tips can be applied to any homeschool curriculum. There are also highlights of our new textbooks with examples of how our curriculum trains your children to have success in their learning.

Start here:

  • Make Your Kindergarten Curriculum Work for You
  • How to Teach Paragraph Writing
  • Quizzing with Hands-on Activities

Travel Notebooks (Part 2)

June 24, 2014 by BJU Press Writer

This post is the second in a two-part series on making travel notebooks. The first post explained the structure of the notebook and its first two sections.

 

The first two sections of the notebook helped the girls stay occupied while riding in the car. These next two sections have more to do with recording the activities of the trip.

The Things We Did

The third section was simply fifteen to twenty pages of lined notebook paper on which the girls were to list the various places we stopped and to write journal-type entries expressing their thoughts and feelings and recording activities in which they engaged during the trip. One daughter, for example, made the following entries on the first day:

Dec. 17—Saw a skunk at North Carolina welcome center. It walked right in front of the car!
Saw Spanish moss growing on trees along highway in South Carolina.
Saw Atlantic Ocean for the first time at 3:25 p.m.

My wife and I made no attempt to dictate what types of things the girls should include in their journals. They wrote what was of interest to them. Some of them even drew pictures of things they saw.

The Trip in Pictures

The last section of the notebook was titled “The Trip in Pictures.” Along the way, we were alert to good subjects to photograph. When the trip was over, the girls gathered around excitedly as we went through the myriad photos from our trip.

“Oh, I remember that!”

“Hey, do you remember what happened when we . . .”

“I want to use that one of me digging in the sand.”

We had taken more than enough shots of everything, so there was no bickering over who got to use which photos. The problem was narrowing the number to what would best fit into their notebooks.

As we traveled, the girls also gathered an impressive collection of pamphlets, postcards, and informational material about the geography and history of various sites. They organized those and inserted them into the front and back pockets of the notebooks.

The notebook idea was without question the most effective tool we’ve found to ease tensions on long trips and teach geography at the same time. A few years later, when we were preparing for another long trip, the girls were sorely disappointed to learn that I thought they were too old for travel notebooks. Popular demand, however, forced me to make four copies of “Summer in Pennsylvania and New York: The Peterson Family Vacation.” Even now, years after that trip, the girls pull out their notebooks, look at the pictures, and talk about what they learned. It might work for your children too.

Make Your Own

Here are a few suggestions for making your own travel notebooks.

  1. Involve your children in planning and making the notebooks.
  2. Preview each section with the children after the notebook is assembled so they’ll know what they are to do.
  3. Set a good example by completing your own notebook as they do theirs.
  4. Call attention to sights along the way.
  5. Encourage neatness and pride in accomplishment.
  6. Provide sufficient time for them to complete their work in the notebooks.
  7. Take a lot of photos from which they can choose the most meaningful to include in their notebooks.
  8. Praise their work in the presence of others.

Our travel notebooks made our trip one of the most memorable we’ve taken. Even if the children do forget some aspects of the trip over time, they can always refresh their memories by digging out their notebooks and perusing them again.

• • • • •

Dennis was a writer of secondary heritage studies materials at BJU Press for a number of years. Before that, he taught history in Christian schools and homeschooled his four daughters along with his wife.

How does your family remember trips?

Filed Under: Successful Learning Tagged With: geography, notebooks, travel

Travel Notebooks

June 17, 2014 by BJU Press Writer

 

“Are we there yet, Daddy?”

“How much longer, Mommy?”

“I’m bored. There’s nothing to do but sit here.”

Sound familiar? Making long trips by car can be nerve-wracking for adults, especially if they’re traveling with children. Sometimes by the time you reach your destination, you’re ready to pull out your hair.

My wife and I discovered a way to retain our sanity and to keep our daughters constructively occupied as they learned valuable geography lessons. We invented travel notebooks.

 

Because the outward appearance of the notebook can send a message to the child about its importance (or lack thereof!), we decided to make our notebooks look very attractive and formal. We purchased for each child a 9.5 x 11 inch, two-pocket, three-ring notebook (with a capacity of thirty to thirty-five pages). Each child chose her own unique notebook color to aid in rapid identification.

Next, I used my computer to create an attractive title page. Because our trip was to Florida to celebrate the Christmas holidays with my wife’s parents, I titled each notebook “Christmas in Florida: The Florida Vacation of the Peterson Family.” Beneath the title were the words as recorded by followed by the child’s name and the dates of the trip.

The “meat” of the notebook was a series of sections, shown in a table of contents.

The Route We Took

The first section was a regional map of the southeastern United States titled “The Route We Took.” It included state boundaries, major cities, and the highway routes on which we would travel. The children were to track our route in red as we progressed from point to point. Because they had the map in front of them and could tell by road signs where we were, we eliminated the inevitable questions: “Are we there yet?” “How much farther?”

The License Plates We Saw

Next we included a national map with state boundaries shown as dashed lines. Using this map, the children were to identify the home states of passing cars and then color each state according to a color-coded key that corresponded to ten geographic regions of the United States and Canada. We gave each child her own box of crayons for coloring.

This section proved to be the most enjoyable for the girls as they competed to see which of them would be the first to completely color each region. During the course of the four-day trip, they saw cars from all but six of the states. They also saw cars from Mexico and even South Korea. (I had failed to entertain the possibility of seeing cars from outside the United States.)

Next week, I’ll share the last two sections in the notebook. You might also be interested in finding out what the girls requested the next time we planned a family vacation.

• • • • •

Dennis was a writer of secondary heritage studies materials at BJU Press for a number of years. Before that, he taught history in Christian schools and homeschooled his four daughters along with his wife.

What sections would you include in a travel notebook for kids?

Filed Under: Successful Learning Tagged With: geography, notebooks, travel

Memorial Day: Remembering the Fallen Heroes

May 26, 2014 by Meredith

Today, we honor those in the American Armed Forces who gave their lives while fighting for our nation’s freedom and principles. All sacrifices are worthy of remembrance.

an american flag on the grave of a sergeantMemorial Day, also called Decoration Day in some locations, began at the end of the Civil War. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers died during the War Between the States. Shortly after the war, women, freedmen, and veterans took time to visit the gravesites of those who had died in battle. Some even created monuments to honor their commanders. Brigadier General Strong Vincent created an early Civil War memorial. The Brigadier General’s brigade defended Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg.

memorial to General Strong Vincent at Gettysburg National Military Park

These observances were first followed by organizations and local communities. In 1971, Memorial Day became a national holiday by act of Congress. By this time, the remembrance had also grown to include those who died in all American wars.

image of three gravestones of three revolutionary war soliders

To honor the memory of these fallen soldiers, national cemeteries such as Gettysburg National Cemetery and Arlington National Cemetery have been created. The locations of some cemeteries are the actual places where soldiers died. For example, there are American cemeteries around the world to honor the heroes who never made it back to their homeland.

a picture overlooking Arlington National CemetaryAnother way we honor these heroes is through the erection of monuments—to individuals, events, and wars. Here are several famous monuments located in the Washington, D.C., area.

US Marine Corps War Memorial
Iwo Jima memorial
USS Maine Mast Memorial 
image of the memorial engraving for the USS Maine
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
soldier guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Vietnam Veterans Memorial

image of the vietnam memoria gathering-5-2014

Visitors can find the names of friends and family members on the wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and make pencil rubbings. I made a pencil rubbing of a family member’s name when I was there.

image of a little girl shading a name into a piece of paper at the Vietnam Memorial.Youth Activity Ideas for Memorial Day

  • Read about this federal holiday in Heritage Studies 4 and about different memorials in Heritage Studies 5 from BJU Press
  • Visit dedicated veteran’s cemeteries near you or those located in Washington, D.C.
  • Participate in Memorial Day parades
  • Place American flags or flowers at military graves
  • Observe the National Moment of Remembrance at 3:00 p.m. local time

How do you and your family observe Memorial Day?

Filed Under: Successful Learning Tagged With: Armed Forces, Civil War, history, Memorial Day, military, soldier

Celebrate Spring!

March 3, 2014 by Megan

I’m not a big fan of winter. There are some aspects that I enjoy—things like homemade soup and big mugs of hot chocolate. But I don’t enjoy activities such as having to bundle up to go outside to pick up my mail or having to shovel snow out of my driveway. I find myself looking forward to spring every year.

This year, spring officially begins on March 20. And even though it might not feel like spring on that Thursday where you live, you can still celebrate with some fun activities.

Have a Special Snack

The appearance of earthworms is a sign of the beginning of spring, so why not eat some “worms” for snack time? Try this delectable snack!

recipe for Worms
Ingredients

¼ cup of prepared chocolate instant pudding
2 chocolate sandwich cookies
Several gummy worms
1 resealable sandwich bag
A small disposable cup
A plastic spoon

Directions

Fill a small cup with the pudding. Put the cookies in the sandwich bag for the child to crush and pour into the paper cup. Then decorate with gummy worms. Yield: 1 serving

Read Some Books

Below are some great read-aloud books for young children:

  • Signs of Spring by Justine Fontes
  • Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  • Buttercup Hill by Eileen M. Berry
  • Everything Spring by Jill Esbaum

Make a Craft

Spring is also the time when you start to see blossoms on the trees. Make your own blossoming tree by following the directions below.

construction paper craft of a flowering tree
Materials Needed
  • Construction paper (blue, green, and brown; 8 ½ x 11 inches)
  • Tissue paper (white and pink)
  • Old pencils (either without an eraser or with “unusable” erasers)
  • Glue
Directions
  1. Cut the green construction paper into strips 3 inches tall and 8 ½ inches wide.
  2. Draw a tree shape on the brown construction paper and cut it out. (Tip: Tracing a child’s hand and forearm makes a great tree shape.)
  3. Glue your tree onto a full sheet of blue construction paper.
  4. Glue a strip of the green construction paper on the bottom to make “grass.”
  5. Cut the tissue paper into 1 inch squares.
  6. Fold a square of tissue paper over the eraser-end of a pencil to form a “blossom.” Put a dab of glue on the bottom of the “blossom” and stick it on one of the branches of the “tree.”

Go for a Walk

If the weather is favorable, go for a walk and look for some of the following signs of spring:

  • Tree blossoms
  • Flowers (especially daffodils and crocuses)
  • Birds
  • Earthworms
  • Butterflies
  • Caterpillars

What do you plan on doing to celebrate the first day of spring?

Filed Under: Successful Learning Tagged With: activities, art, homeschool, language arts, reading, spring

U.S. Presidents: Where Did They Come From?

February 17, 2014 by David

red and blue graphic that says Presidents DayApril 30, 2014, will mark 225 years since George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States. The nation has had 44 different presidents during those years. Many of these men began their careers as lawyers, soldiers, or politicians. But I was curious to find out what some of our presidents did before they entered the political arena. So I went to whitehouse.gov and did some research. I read the bios available for all of our presidents and found three different presidents that, in my opinion, had interesting beginnings.

Andrew Johnson

President from 1865 to 1869, Johnson was born into a poor family in 1808. As a boy he became a tailor’s apprentice. Eventually, he moved to Greeneville, Tennessee, and opened his own tailor shop. While there,  Johnson married Eliza McCardle. He would eventually participate in debates at the local school there, aiding his speaking skills.

James Garfield

His term shortened because he was assassinated, Garfield “was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1831.”1 As a young man, he worked with canal boats. In 1856 he graduated from Williams College before going to work for the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute in Ohio. Eventually, Garfield was elected to the Ohio senate; he went on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives before becoming president.

Herbert Hoover

President from 1929 to 1933, Hoover worked for many years in China as an engineer. He and his family were still in China when the Boxer Rebellion occurred and helped their Chinese neighbors during that tumultuous time. Hoover would continue to help in other countries as World War I began. Eventually he became president, and his presidency would be marked by the Great Depression. These are just a few of the presidents that I found who led interesting lives before their political careers began. I must admit I found those who were born in Ohio to be the most interesting—but that could be my Ohio-born bias. That said, I think it’s good to know that many of our presidents had a strong work ethic that led to their presidencies and helped them while in office. To me, that legacy makes honoring them important on this Presidents’ Day.

How do you observe Presidents’ Day?

1. James Garfield. Whitehouse.gov. http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/jamesgarfield (accessed: January, 24, 2014).

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Filed Under: Successful Learning Tagged With: Christian school, history, homeschool, presidents day, United States

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