In my first post on summer homeschool projects I posted a video on how to start crocheting. Have you started a crochet chain with your children yet? Do you want to know how to crochet more than just a chain? This video shows you the next step. You and your kids will be crocheting like a professional in no time at all!

I also have to mention the possibility of using your new skill to serve others. My church has a group that knits together and donates finished baby blankets to hospitals for premature babies or scarves, hats, and mittens to seafarers. It is great opportunity to minister to someone in a very tangible and practical way. Plus your children will learn a little something about service.

I have been learning to knit recently, and my kids are fascinated by it. They want me to teach them how to do it, but I know that knitting is too difficult for very young children. Grammy suggested that she teach C5 how to crochet instead. I am trilled that she is going to teach her this great craft. Not only will she learn how to crochet, but she will also gain precious memories from the times she shares with her grandmother. If you and your children want to enbark on the adventure of learning to crochet this summer, I have included a video that demonstrates how to start a crochet chain.

In the past I have written about the benefits of using puppets in your homeschool to encourage literacy. Here are a few other ideas for how you can use puppets to motivate your children and encourage learning in your homeschool.

~A puppet can help your younger child to develop language skills. Young children love puppets and are often willing to open up to them. Take advantage of this and have your child and tell the puppet stories. Ask your child probing questions to encourage more developed ideas.

~Your child can teach a puppet something you’ve recently learned about. For example, have your child explain a process in math or science to the puppet. The puppet can ask questions in order to encourage your child to add details to the explanation. This is a great way to assess your child’s understanding.

~If you are studying a particular historical time period, have your child make puppets that reflect the dress of the time. Then have your child create and perform a puppet show that includes historically accurate details. Music and art can be woven into the the performance as appropriate. Or your child could make puppets of a certain historical figure and have that puppet engage with the audience in character.

Try using puppets in your homeschool.

Photos courtesy of Wendy Piersall (@eMom)

~Your beginning reader can read books to a puppet. Young children buy into the fantasy of the puppet interacting with them. Sometimes the presence of the puppet helps a child who is struggling with reading to relax and enjoy the experience. The puppet makes it fun to read.

~Your children can retell books by writing a script and using puppets. It is a fun way to encourage your children to reread a book and understand it well enough to capture the essence of the story. It also encourages your children to write a good script. Younger children will love to watch the puppet shows, too.

~You can make a read aloud more engaging with a puppet. My kids love listening to the puppet read stories, ask questions, and explain parts of the stories. They talk to the puppet. They also like touching it and even mimicking the way that I use the puppet. This tool can be especially helpful in engaging children who find it difficult to sit still long enough to listen to a whole book.

~Your children can teach the puppet. This is a fun way to have your child summarize a new skill or concept that you’ve been practicing. For example, the puppet can learn to sound out words or find rhyming pairs. The puppet can even find sight words in a story such as “the”, “what”, and “said”.

~You can research another culture with puppets. Shadow puppets are part of Indonesian culture. Your children can create a shadow puppet show as a culminating activity after researching Indonesian culture.

Have fun with puppets!

Photo courtesy of nickstone333

It is the middle of the winter, and most places have plenty of snow. Learn about snowflakes this month in your homeschool.

~Wilson Bentley is famous for photographing snowflakes. He successfully photographed his first snowflake on January 15, 1885. Try researching his work and life. Watch this informative video about his life. It starts out told in the first person.

-There is a Snowflake Bentley website where you can find out more about his life. There are also copies of his photographs posted there.

-Read the following books to research Bentley’s life:

Snowflake Bentley (Caldecott Medal Book)

The Snowflake Man: A Biography of Wilson A. Bentley

My Brother Loved Snowflakes: The Story of Wilson A. Bentley, the Snowflake Man

~Learn about snowflakes. Go to the Cal Tech website for host of information.

-Read the following books to research snowflakes:

Snowflakes in Photographs

Ken Libbrecht’s Field Guide to Snowflakes

The Snowflake : A Water Cycle Story

-Observe snowflakes. How Stuff Works has a great lesson plan for this science experiment.

~Make snowflakes in various artistic ways. These books can help:

Snowflakes for all Seasons

Make Your Own Paper Snowflakes

Easy Tatting (Dover Needlework Series)

~At ProTeacher you can find a few math activities related to a snow theme. My two favorites are:

-Have a snowball fight. Write a math fact on a piece of white paper and crumple it up in a ball. Make a whole pile of these. Throw your “snowballs” at each other for a specified time. Then everyone takes turns reading the math facts out loud. Repeat.

-Use shaving cream on a table or desk as your snow. Have your child write in the shaving cream. Write math facts or draw shapes. Recite a number such as one hundred forty five and have your child write it in the shaving cream – 145.

Photos, Snowflake-024 & Snowflake-009, courtesy of yellowcloud