By Heather Sanders.
At the start of each new year I take time to update and clean out my browser’s bookmarked web pages. It almost seems counterproductive for me to bookmark anything since I rarely, if ever, go back and review them. That said, when I did take time out to peruse through them yesterday I was delightfully surprised by most of what I found there, so maybe my efforts are less counterproductive than I thought.
The internet is most certainly a visual feast for those of us who use this virtual platform as an ongoing source of inspiration.
In the process of organizing and de-cluttering my bookmarks I decided to share some of the links, photos and ideas with you. I hope these amazing ideas from other creatives serve to supplement and stimulate your individual efforts toward educating your children.
SOURCE:
Website: Teal and Lime
Post: Flash Card Organizer
Just like Jackie, when my kids were young we somehow collected a variety of different flash cards. Our kids LOVED flash cards, so the boxes they came in were handled frequently enough to render them useless. We ended up securing the sides closed with packing tape, until eventually tossing the boxes and sliding the cards into individual Ziploc storage bags labeled with permanent black ink.
Jackie’s “stroll through the school supplies section at Target” was all the inspiration she needed to turn index card holders into flash card holders, and at just one dollar each, they were more than affordable. After purchasing an additional “ITSO narrow tray in translucent plastic” she was able to neatly store her new flash card organization system “between the paper boxes and magazine racks in the arts & crafts center.”
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Website: Max and Ellie
Post: A Body Birthday Party
This school year Kenny has been studying Human Anatomy, so when I stumbled upon the body birthday cake served up over at Max & Ellie’s I knew it would make the perfect celebratory end-of-year cake for his co-op class.
The cake appears to be very easy (which I like), made from “homemade chocolate cake with homemade chocolate frosting, and then a skeleton torso made from white store-bought fondant. I’m thinking I should combine it with Ree’s Animal Cell Cake she posted a few weeks ago.
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Website: Inspire Co.
Post: Dem Bones
In addition to the body birthday cake, Amy at Inspire Co. posted photos of the “bowlful of bones” her son took to a Halloween party. The recipe is simple, calling for stick pretzels, marshmallows and white chocolate.
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Website: Life As I Know It
Post: What you’ve all been waiting for!
Julie Rosenham’s Color Quiet Book is made “entirely of felt, except for the scraps of fabric inside.” The precious colored balloons on the front unbutton to provide an “interactive learning experience” where kids can match the balloon colors to the appropriate color page within the book.
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Website: Martha Stewart
Post: Crystal Egg Geodes
TV crafter Jim “Figgy” Noonan’s Crystal Egg Geodes craft was initially viewed via The Martha Stewart Show, but is also available as a “How-To” on Martha’s website.
Doubling as a science project, the creation of these vibrant geodes offers an “opportunity to show kids the crystallization process at work.”
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Website: Handbook Nature Study
Post: Our Spring Fern Nature Study
Next year our co-op’s 6th Grade Science will cycle into Botany with a corresponding lab. So, when I came across this beautiful fern ink print I immediately clicked through to read more about it.
I’ve always been impressed with nature journals. I’m not terribly artistic in this sense, but am super impressed by Barb McCoy’s explanation of how to make leaf prints with ink.
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Website: aKNITomy on Etsy.
Product: Knitting in Biology 101
This isn’t a blog post, but it really caught my attention since I’ve never seen anything like it. For those students who get a bit sick to their stomach at the thought of actual frog dissections (and I have my own Emelie in mind when I write this), here is an alternative – a hand knit frog with needle-felted innards made from 100% wool.
Obviously it can’t substitute for a good ol’ fashioned dissection, but at the very least it’s void the scent of formaldehyde!
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Website: Mt. Hope Chronicles
Post: Mt. Hope Academy @ The Live and Learn Study – Week 1
I am a sucker for homeschool room photos, which is why I enjoyed the post revealing Heidi’s post of her “Live and Learn Studio” created from what was formerly called “the abyss”, an ugly detached shop in front of their home.
With no small investment at IKEA, a few unique finds and light fixtures, paint, glass knobs, inexpensive printed artwork and considerable effort, the previous 450 foot “shop” became an enviable learning studio.
Makes me wonder what we could do if we busted out the wall on the garage side. Hmmmm…
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Website: Sunny Days in Second Grade
Post: The Effects of Blogstalking
The second grade teacher who posted this project gives credit to Clutter-Free Classroom’s “Me on the Map” projects for inspiration, but I loved how she changed it up.
I remember teaching my own kids how they related to their planet, continent, country, state, town, and street. I’m impressed with how this 2nd grade teacher personalized this project with actual photos of the individual kids in her classroom. They were posed to seem as if they were holding the earth on their shoulders or in their hands. As this teacher stated, “The kids really got a great understanding of where they [were] in the world after this.”
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Website: Mini-Eco
Post: Valentine Craft for LMNOP blog
Kate Lilley has a really fabulous crafty blog, but I was totally entranced by the disappearing ink in her message in a bottle post.
Apparently all it takes is a squeeze of lemon and some white paper to create a secret message. Perfect for those studying the spies of early American History (like George Washington) or…for those wanting to deliver a sweet, yet private, letter to one’s love.
Plus? Her photos are precious.
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Now that I found an outlet for my bookmark habit, I look forward to collecting and sharing many more.
If you have a particular post that tickles your fancy or inspires you visually, share it in the comments below!
OMSH/Heather L. Sanders is “Momma” to three kids, Emelie, Meredith and Kenny. When not homeschooling, or writing about homeschooling, Heather is busy designing websites or going on dates with her husband Jeff, the love of her life.
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