Thanksgiving is just around the corner! For home-educators, like myself, this time of year can be filled with all kinds of mixed emotions. On the one hand, I am thrilled that the cooler temps and calmer schedule make for a more focused crew of little learners at the kitchen table each day. We seem ultra-productive, as the cold weather keeps us indoors, lessons spent snuggling under a blanket dominate the days, and reading reclaims the top-spot on our list of favorite ways to pass an afternoon! Ironically, as the holidays loom, I feel tempted to give away entire days to cleaning, shopping and preparing to host family for large meals and celebrations in the days and weeks ahead. What a better way to keep us focused than to shake up our lessons with themed mini-units that tie into the season or to titles that have captured our interests. The perfect place to go for these mini-units is homeschoolshare.com. For starters, its all FREE, and the content is outstanding! I have relied on these supplemental lap books and units for over 5 years to help keep my kiddos interested and learning! (I swear this is not an advertisement!) They even have a calendar of activities that highlight historical, cultural, literary and scientific milestones throughout the year. Click here to check out the December calendar.
One final note: I recently came across this link on Pinterest. I know so many people who own the box set of Magic School Bus DVDs (myself included) or who have Netflix subscriptions. These lesson plans could be just the thing to help turn those DVDs into more than just passive TV time! Now if I could only find the same kind of plans for Wild Kratts! 