Summer Bucket List!

I've loved Homeschool Share for over 10 years now...wow..that's hard to believe!  Here's a fantastic summer bucket list from quite a few years ago that we still use. And they have a printable if you want...or don't :)  I've updated the links since some were dead.

1. Make homemade ice cream and eat it for dinner!

2. Have a water balloon fight!

3. Pick wildflowers and give the bouquet away to a neighbor, grandparent, or someone else who needs some cheer!

4. Run through the sprinkler.

5. Go berry picking and make homemade jam.

6. Make sun prints.

7. Hang a birdfeeder.

8. Construct picture props like mustaches, hats, etc. and take silly photos.

9. Plant a sunflower house and Read Eve Bunting’s Sunflower House.

10.  Bake cookies in a solar oven.

11.  Find some smooth rocks and paint them as insects or people or create a pet rock.

12.  Go roller skating.

13.  Play at the park.

14.  Go camping in your driveway or back yard.

15.  Catch lightning bugs in a jar and read Fireflies by Julie Brinkloe

16.  Ride a carousel or a merry-go-round.

17.  Freeze some chocolate-dipped bananas.

18.  Plan a movie night!

19.  Have a teddy bear picnic! Invite friends and read The Teddy Bears’ Picnic.

20.  Ride a horse, even if it’s just a homemade stick horse.

21.  Make some summer funny faces.

22.  Catch a caterpillar and keep it until it turns into a butterfly.

23.  Set up a lemonade stand; donate profits to a charity.

24. Catch a raindrop in your mouth.

25.  Go bowling.

26.  Stay up late and go star gazing. Look for shooting stars!

27. Serve strawberry shortcake for breakfast!

28.  Have a family game night.

29. Invite another family to your house and host a water gun fight!

30. Visit a local creek and catch crawdads. Read Crawdad Creek together.

31. After a good rain, go mud-puddle splashing!

32.  Go swimming!

33.  Paint with ice cubes.

34.  Have a picnic in your backyard.

35.  Concoct some homemade popsicles!

36.  Make giant wands and blow bubbles

37.  Create a scavenger hunt for your kids, or let them create one for you!

38.  Roast hotdogs and S’mores over a fire.

39.  Have a Family Talent Show night!

40.  Make a piñata.

41.  Build a butterfly feeder.

42.  Make frozen treasures and let your kids excavate them!

43.  Craft some wind chimes.

44.  Go bird watching.

45.  Make homemade sidewalk chalk.

46.  Go to a small airport and watch the planes take off and land.

47.  Make sun tea punch.

48.  Play miniature golf.

49.  Build a balloon powered car.

50.  Lie on your back and watch the clouds go by, looking for animal shapes.

51.  Roll down a hill!

52.  Bake a fruit pizza, and eat it for dinner!

53.  Go to the zoo.

54.  Tie-dye T-shirts (outside!)

55.  Craft a outdoor painting.

56.  Go on a hike and look for animal tracks.

57. Build a worm farm.

58.  Jump rope!

59.  Make paper beads for stringing bracelets and necklaces.

60.  Construct an obstacle course in the backyard.

61.  Make mud pies.

62.  Plan a special day away to state park or museum.

63.   Have a wet sponge fight!

64.  Make a rain gauge to measure the rainfall.

65.  Build a fort!

66.  Drink root beer floats.

67.  Try a Kids Who Think challenge.

68.  Write a letter to a friend or grandparent.

69.  Visit a new festival.

70.  Have a build your own banana split night!

71.  Offer to plant flowers at a nursing home or church.

72.  Make fireworks in a jar.

73.  Blow up some fizzy explosion bags!

74.  Play Frisbee together.

75.  Wash the car or the dog (or both!).

76.  Take a family bike ride.

77.  Play games with Glow Sticks!

78.  Plan a one day road trip!

79.  Make Snow Cones.

80.  Create ice sculptures with balloons.

81.  Press some wildflowers.  - Fun ideas 

82.  Have a puppet show with homemade puppets.

83.  Make a boat and sail it in your tub, in a swimming pool, in a creek, or at a pond.

84.  Go fishing!

85.  Dance in the rain!

86.  Go to an outdoor play or concert.

87.  Craft some friendship bracelets.

88.   On a rainy day, construct a marble maze.

89.  Make homemade Lemon Shake Ups.

90.   Craft a sun catcher.

91.  Go to the movies!

92.  Build a birdhouse.

93.  Spend a day at the fair.

94.  Make a firefly jar! (So cool!)  or Here Read When Lightning Comes in a Jar.

95.  Try to read 100 books (every reader in the house can contribute!).

96.  Make ice boats.

97.  Visit a local Farmer’s Market and try something new.

98.  Watch a parade.

99.  Construct a tin foil river!

100.   Go out for a frozen treat! Read Ice Cream: The Full Scoop.

Homeschool Journal | Portfolio | Planner

Sometimes I just need a journal / portfolio / assignment /planner sheet for the kids to use for school that I can customize....one that has fun activities like mazes and can help me keep organize with the books, movies, internet we use.  One that doesn't have tons of coloring since I have a kid who doesn't like coloring.  go.figure.   Or cost a fortune, and isn't a ruled or blank piece of paper because if I hand a blank piece of paper to this kid he will stare at it.  One that can be used with ANY curriculum or NONE at all for freestyling.  One that ALL ages of kids can use instead of for specific ages or grades.  I'm not asking for a lot....right?  You can stop laughing now.     I've homeschooled since dinosaurs roamed the Earth and up until this point I haven't seen this beast...

And then I found the Christian Homeschool Adventure Journal.  Right now there are only 2 and they are "adventure" (read boy) oriented, which is fine since I have boys, but I'm hoping for more!  The cool part is there is a page they fill in with pictures or writing about their day and what they did.  They date it and there you go!  D.O.N.E  the portfolio is done.  

I love that I can make a little list with checkboxes at the bottom of the first page to let them know stuff I want them to do that day.  If I'm really on my game I do that the night before. ;)  So planning done.... 

The next page is really open ended and has assignment ideas all around the outside so all I do is circle what I want them to do on that page, draw some lines to divide it if I need to. Assignment sheet...check!  

The last page is either a maze, or asks them to draw something or has a coloring page that isn't TOO overwhelming....read NOT a whole page of crazy designs that my younger kid will refuse to do, and enough that the creative ones can really put some of theempty space to good use.

The best part is, you can adapt it.   If it's small kids, you just have them draw pictures of their day, and as they get older you can begin giving writing, comics or ???  So cool.  One journal per kid for ALL the ages and grades.  How cool is that???  

AND you just need 3 for the year and you have 180 days done without counting days on your calendar.  LOVE THAT.  For those that have hour requirements you can just put the hours on the first page for that day....though, homeschooling happens ALL the time not just for 2-4 hours since they are learning constantly.  Just sayin'.

Now, I know you're probably wondering...what about math, etc...   Yes, you'll have to add math & phonics for the littles, and math & grammar for the olders but if they pick their books according to the list in the front, and it's books they like, you won't be bugging them to read, fill out this sheet, etc. like when you use textbooks.

The really cool thing about this journal is it has a bucket list for them to put things they would like to do in the next 60 days and has them do them through out the 60 days.  So, all that stuff you "want to do" that falls through the cracks actually gets done, and because the kids pick out what they want on their bucket list, it's stuff they will actually do. Not the stuff some curriculum says you should do that you have to drag the kids through.  Now, I'll be honest here, and say my kids knew some stuff they wanted to do, but I kept throwing out ideas until they caught on and they filled out the entire list.

Here's some pics of different kids' books so you can see the inside:

The Year Of Horses

It started like most other years...except I decided to share a movie, a movie I've loved since I was 12, The Black Stallion.  I remember distinctly thinking, "if the kids don't like this...I'm not keeping them."  Just kidding...or maybe not.  :P  I didn't have to worry because the incredible photography sucked them in just like it did me as a kid.  AND THE STORY!  We went on to read the book, and then they both read the book by themselves.  We turned our reading into a unit study, and found out about all kinds of interesting things from each chapter.  I had no lesson plan, just me and the kids on the couch, discussing whatever interesting tidbits each chapter had....science, grammar, history, geography, etc.   It was a game changer kind of year.  Read the book and discuss together and that's was it.  No lessons plans just freestyling.....aka Moore Homeschooling or Ruth Beechick.  

But that movie started what has now been "The Year of Horses".   We had a book from a KONOS unit we did called The Blind Colt so we read that again...and discussed.  So then they put the book in the car so they could both read it! We moved onto Misty of Chincoteague  and discussed it just like we did the last one.  Then we watched the 1960's movie and did a compare and contrast.....time out....just to be transparent here, we've watched this movie (Misty) a couple of times for years but I didn't realize how much they liked it. {mom fail}

And then we moved on to Stormy, Misty's Foal.  We'll next be heading into King of the Wind. 

Maybe you need a break, maybe you need a change of pace, or maybe you just need to relax a little because the kids are hating homeschool.  Either way, I hope this will inspire you to read books YOU love and share that love with the kids.  

Learning happens...you don't have to force it.

14 Above all these, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together perfectly; 15 and let the shalom {peace} which comes from the Messiah be your heart’s decision-maker, for this is why you were called to be part of a single Body.

And be thankful —

Colossians 3:14-15 CJB

**If you're nervous about unity studies - Try out Amanda Bennett - Horses or Handsome Horses

June Activity Calendar!

Ever need to come up with something fun to do with the kids but don't have a clue what??  Did you know that Enchanted Learning has a monthly calendar of activities??  You could even use this for a jumping off point to study instead of doing unit studies or workbooks!  FUN!  If you unschool you could strew this site and see what interests the kids and let them have at it.  Or if your more traditional homeschooler, just plan your week based on the activities

Here's the calendar for June 2018 Enjoy!