Welcome to Homeschool Holiday of the Day. The site for anyone in education who wants easy, fun curriculum to spice up the mundane. From Fruitcake toss day to Halloween we have you covered! Please visit our START HERE page for ideas on implementing the resources found on this site in your education setting (whatever it may be).
This site is a labor of love and will grow and grow. Is there a Holiday you would like to see featured? Contact us and we will do our best to make it happen! We are glad you are here and hope you enjoy learning and celebrating in your home, classroom, car…wherever you are!
Christy AKA “Mrs. Crabtree” and the Happy Hive Education team
If my estimation is correct right about now you are sitting in one of 2 positions: Something isn’t working and you need to make a change OR things are going splendidly and you are ready to “add something new” into the mix.
A word of caution I give to all my homeschool clients as well as to the teachers I have mentored over the years – DON’T make any changes after Halloween until you get to January… just let the “holiday season” ebb and flow with what you are already doing.
If something is failing miserably and you and one of your children’s relationships are suffering, by all means, stop the activity – but do not feel obligated to replace it with something else. Let the holidays do that naturally. You are going to get busy with shopping (even if it is online), meal prep, housekeeping and decorating. These activities should fill in your gaps naturally and bring you peace and joy. Go ahead and let the holidays “BE” school – Plan a fun holiday themed activity for each day like a holiday advent calendar.
(This easy advent /countdown calendar is available in my ETSY SHOP)
One of our favorite traditions is to listen to the old radio show called : The Cinnamon Bear. There are 26 episodes one each day from Thanksgiving until Christmas – each episode is roughly 15 minutes and perfect for the beginning, middle or end of your day. I even used it in my classroom and “doubled up” as needed to make up for weekends and when we were on break. Classrooms don’t have all 26 days consecutively, so I have also included a master link so you can simply do your own calculations for how many to use each day to get you to your winter break.
Just listening is plenty activity enough, but as this month’s Curriculum Club Freebie I have A calendar of episodes and 5 Free coloring pages for you to coordinate with the Cinnamon Bear Radio Program.
Your learners can listen and color at the same time. It is also very easy to discuss character traits, kindness and make predictions after each episode if you are in need of more “academic” connections for a classroom setting. Use the backside of the coloring sheets for such writing activities.
You can also simply make pies and measure ingredients, write a letter to Santa, or family members… paper garlands, cookies, and studying reindeer (caribou) are all great supplements to this busy time. When January arrives… batten down the hatches again, and go ahead and make those changes, add that new art lesson, or math drill to the mix…but in the meantime, cuddle up on the couch and drink some hot cocoa and see if the Cinnamon Bear is able to help Jimmy and Judy find their silver star!
Happy Hive Homeschooling – Providing experiences for homeschoolers, classroom teachers and families because there is always something to celebrate!
Be sure to visit your favorite shopping platform for holiday based experiences.
Click on image to visit my Amped Up Learning StoreClick on image to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store
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As unbelievable as it sounds – Mickey Mouse is more recognized around the world than Jolly ole St. Nick! Today, November 18th we celebrate Mickey (& Minnie’s) Birthday.
Traditionally a characters birthday is celebrated based on their first public appearance in a cartoon. That’s why today is doubly special and both Mickey and Minnie are honored. On November 18, 1928 Mickie and Minnie sailed into our hearts aboard a little tug boat in the famous cartoon: Steamboat Willie.
Did you know that’s not the ACTUAL first cartoon appearance for Mickey? The very young Walt Disney company actually released two cartoons before Steamboat Willie that were a flop. The difference in Steamboat Willie was SOUND. This cartoon was the first animation to use fully synchronized sound. If you watch the two previous cartoons, they have had sound added after the success of Steamboat Willie!
While Sorcerer Mickey is busy giving an autograph… there is trouble afoot. Douglas clearly does not know the consequences for what he is about to do…. In ways only “Disney Magic” can make happen… the Disney photographer captured Douglas’ attempt to transform into the Sorcerer himself. Mickey was nothing but kind and loving! (I was actually horrified for a minute that Douglas was putting on Mickey’s hat…but it turned out happily ever after. )
According to Disney, Mickey Mouse has a 97% recognition rate among children ages 3 – 11. That’s even higher than Santa Claus. You can even hunt for Hidden Mickeys all over Disney parks and in movies.
Cactus planted in Disney’s California Adventure. They form a “hidden Mickey”.
For his 50th birthday he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Mickey’s 50th Birthday Present 🙂
Mickey is blessed to share the day with his Love, Minnie Mouse.
Minnie had the same debut as her mouse-friend Mickie, so her Birthday is also celebrated on November 18th. The Mickey Mouse comic strip story “The Gleam” published for a few months in 1942 gave her full name as Minerva Mouse, although this is rarely used now. It took a little Longer for Minnie to be recognized with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of fame, she was 90 when she received hers. Minnie also is rarely the star of a cartoon or movie. It wasn’t until 1988 when she was the star of her own Television special – Totally Minnie.
You can celebrate today with a FREE download of THE SENSATIONAL SIX by Happy Hive / Homeschool Holiday. This Set includes activities for EACH of the 6 main characters in the group.
For each character there is a brief history, information about their first animated appearances as well as some fun facts. I have linked to the best quality version of the cartoons mentioned as possible, for educational / historic purposes only.
I have also included a brief explanation of the literary terms personification and anthropomorphism. This is aimed at older learners in grades 5 and above as all of the characters except Pluto are considered anthropomorphic.
There are Comic Book Templates, a Cartoon Discussion guide as well as a link to a short video on the 5 Types of Animation all included for extension activities. This is a JAM PACKED FREEBIE! to celebrate 6 Amazing characters and their impact on cartoon culture.
If you would like to read more about the Sensational Six, be sure to check out their special days: THE SENSATIONAL SIX
For access to this and other GREAT Curriculum Club Exclusive Content, Please Sign up below. As soon as you confirm your membership in the FREE Curriculum Club, you will receive our welcome email with the password to our protected content.
Be sure to visit your favorite shopping platform to purchase more great curriculum:
Click on image to visit my Amped Up Learning StoreClick on image to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store
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With Love,
“Mrs. Crabtree”
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This article first appeared in the Homeschool Holiday October Newsletter. If you are not receiving the Newsletter, you are not a member of our Curriculum Club! It’s easy to sign up and it’s FREE.
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A Small reunion of former 4th Grade students.
These wonderful well adapted adults survived my early un credentialed years filled with nick names and “no talking” days!
I tell everyone who will listen what an awesome teacher I am. Seriously – I am over the top proud to mold little minds. I deeply believe I am following God’s Will in my life and I’m letting my light shine. I will homeschool anyone’s child -and have over the years. I solicit for little humans to come to my house so I can be their teacher in my awesome way. I’m not going to lie…it’s borderline boastful…. But in the same breath I will also admit my faults. (Those don’t take long ha ha!)
Here I am with not one, but two 4th grade students that won the school spelling bee – I was the proudest teacher on campus, but freely admitted that I had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with their success! All I did was show up to the spelling bee.
When I was deep in the throws of homeschooling we followed a bit of a routine. I thrive on structure and believe kids do too. It wasn’t strict, like math at exactly 8 am every day and I didn’t have a bell system ringing in my house, but we did have an order and routine. I still didn’t have enough time to get everything done. Social media was just in it’s beginning years and I resisted comparing myself to others, my kids WERE learning…but still I wondered if it would be enough. So I would try again tomorrow to get everything done….
It’s summer – but here I have crammed as many kids into my living room as possible. We are having a week long camp: “Camp Crabtree” so I can *homeschool* my nieces, nephews and friends’ kids.
In my classroom, I was required to follow the bell system and have a much more structured approach. For sure I would get it all done – right? (Can you hear the laughter?)
When I needed more time for an epic science project – I scheduled it in. I honestly can’t tell you how many times one of the “special” teachers had to call my classroom because I was in the middle of teaching and forgot to send my fourth graders to their class. I’d be embarrassed if that sort of thing embarrassed me. I was BLESSED to have specialists to teach such classes as Art, Music, PE and computers to name a few – but I was always deep into whatever we were doing and lost track of time.
After 15 years of classroom teaching and handwritten as well as fancy online lesson planning – I never, even once got it all done. That’s right folks – Mrs. Awesome teacher never got it all done. Perhaps you know a secret I don’t or I’m not as Awesome as I think I am.
Wonder Teacher – Aka Mrs. Awesome herself!
You can judge me or perhaps it makes YOU feel better about what’s going on in your home or classroom. Never finished the Math or Social Studies textbook. Never covered every 4th grade standard (or whatever grade I was teaching). I bet there was a day here and there that I accomplished the *day* as it was laid out – but I’m not sure I can prove that! I often wondered if it was even possible in 180 days to cover it “ALL”. Every year I tried – believe me it was always going to be “this year”…but again, and again it never happened.
Despite this fact, I still feel that I am indeed an AWESOME teacher and an even better Homeschool Mom and mentor.
Twin Day with a former student. She was no longer in my class, but wanted to be MY twin. How cool is that!
Why? Maybe because we didn’t get it all done, but I did give my learners my LOVE, my TIME and my PASSION for the topics we were learning.
My children (The Bugs) are in college and a High School Senior. I have students that I helped homeschool in similar situations, finishing their schooling, graduated – all right where they should be – regardless of what we “finished” in a day, week, or year.
Teacher of the Bride!
Through social media I am in contact with many students that were educated in my classroom in one way or another.. Those that came early in my career when things were unpolished and very much by instinct and those that came a little later (through their parents) that had the pleasure of a teacher with more experience and were “homeschooled” in a classroom. They all survived not finishing.
They share memories of EXPERIENCES, both when I was unpolished and when I was “experienced” and my LOVE, TIME and PASSION was enough for all of them!
Each day as you begin, whether it’s in your home as a homeschool mom or in a classroom teacher, rather than focus on what you “need to get done” I encourage you to instead focus on sharing your LOVE, TIME and PASSION for learning and let the rest fall into place.
November 11th is Veteran’s Day in the United States. I want to introduce you to another holiday that spreads peace and brings joy: World Origami Day. Today I have a FREE Origami Fortune Teller for you as an easy introduction to this ancient art of paper folding. Our Thanksgiving Fortune Teller is designed to help you and your child experience gratitude activities TOGETHER!
History of paper folding
In Japan, the paper crane is a symbol of peace. I think that is a beautiful connection to our military Veterans. Paper folding is an activity that is ageless. Practicing Gratitude something our family focuses on in November in earnest, but practices all year. The Thanksgiving Fortune Teller allows you to combine the two together in an authentic way. Begin by talking briefly about the word origami:
The word origami comes from two Japanese words: oru (to fold) and kami (paper). Paper was invented in China about 105 AD then brought to Japan in 6th century by Monks.
At its earliest stages, paper folding was only for religious or ceremonial purposes. Paper was a luxury item. By the 1800s paper folding is recreational and kindergarten children in Europe and Japan learn what is now the ART of paper folding.
Anyone can create Origami by folding a square piece of paper into a shape without using glue.
Fortune Tellers – Easy Origami!
One of the easiest Origami pieces to include into your day is the Origami Fortune teller! This is where Homeschool Holiday comes in.
This fun activity for kids is sure to be a boredom buster. In honor of World Origami day, Homeschool Holiday is offering our Thanksgiving / Gratitude “Fortune Teller” printable as a free download. It comes with a free bonus gratitude worksheet your learners can use with or without the fortune teller. Designed to get the family involved, the activities on this Fortune Teller are sure to inspire an “Attitude of Gratitude” in each family member. The ideas are not necessarily new or unique – but rather tried and true, down to earth ways for families to bond and serve each other and their community. Donate toys, make lists and create crafts are among some of the activities suggested by the “fortune teller”. There are 8 different activities including filling out the “is grateful” worksheet.
Fortune Teller FREE Download for Origami Day
Getting access to your Free Copy of the Thanksgiving Fortune Teller is quick and easy – all you need to do is CLICK HERE and sign up for our Curriculum Club. The Curriculum Club is FREE and membership gives you access to our EXCLUSIVE Members only area where we have plenty of FREE printables – including Today’s Origami Activity. You will also receive our Happy Hive Newsletter once a month with the latest in holiday curriculum as well as practical teaching ideas for both home and classroom.
Paper folding tips:
Making strong creases by using your thumbnail, a bone folder, or the handle of your scissors.
It’s ok to start over. Paper folding takes time.
Not just a game, educational too
Fortune Tellers, or Cootie Catchers are great boredom busters. Use them as a “break” from technology as well as a way to improve communication and fine motor skills. Fortune tellers are played with a partner or alone. Homeschool Holiday offers a MEGA SET of 16 different Fortune Tellers for holidays as well as academics. At just $3.00 for the set you pay less than 20 cents for each! There are bonus activities and a blank DIY template included for unlimited fun.
If you are not familiar with how fortune tellers work, be sure to check out my quick video of our “pirate” themed Fortune Teller HERE.
Happy Hive Homeschooling – Providing experiences for homeschoolers, classroom teachers and families looking for a reason to celebrate.
Be sure to visit your favorite shopping platform for holiday based experiences.
Click on image to visit my Amped Up Learning StoreClick on image to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store
Curriculum Club Member Newsletter
Sign up to receive our Tips and Tricks Newsletter with the link to an Exclusive Freebie each month, previews of upcoming holidays and coordinating products, coupons and MORE! Just click the image below to sign up!
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In Springfield Massachusetts, Winter can be cold! Playing outside during school isn’t ideal. In 1891, James Naismith worked for the YMCA International Training School. They asked him to come up with a new game so they young men could train in winter. He used peach baskets nailed to the lower railing of the gym balcony and a soccer style ball. Each time the ball made it into the basket, the janitor had to use his ladder to get the ball out again! Stopping play to get the ball each time a point scores isn’t exactly ideal. It didn’t take long until a hole was put in the bottom of the basket. The ball could now be removed by poking it with a stick.
The formation of the NBA
Metal hoops, nets and backboards were added to the game by 1906. Basketball had grown in popularity and two organizations existed. In 1949, the National Basketball Association formed eliminating these 2 organizations.
Currently there are 29 teams in the United States and 1 is in Canada. The NBA is one of four major professional sports leagues in the US and Canada. (The others are the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League.
The NBA is the leading men’s professional basketball league in the world.
Celebrating Basketball Day
November 6th is “Basketball” Day in honor of James Naismith and his clever use of equipment. The BEST way you can celebrate today is to participate in some basketball activity yourself, even if it is a little game of one-ono-one in the driveway or practicing ball control with drills.
If you are creative you can craft up an indoor basketball game of your own using small containers (like empty pudding or applesauce cups) and a ball or wadded up paper (ping pong balls work great for this). Have your learner create a set of rules for the game, deciding how far apart the “hoops” are and how many points a player needs to win. Perhaps you want to include a stick to get the balls out like in those early years of basketball!
Homeschool Holiday also has an activity learners can use to map where each of the teams in the NBA play as well as the States and Capitals. Maps are provided for reference or you can have learners use your own reference materials.
This activity is a great way to inspire independent exploration of both States and Capitals as well as complement an interest in basketball. This is a print and go resource perfect for both home and classroom use.
Happy Hive Homeschooling
We specialize in providing experiences for homeschoolers, classroom teachers and families looking for a reason to celebrate.
Be sure to visit your favorite shopping platform for holiday based experiences.
Click on image to visit my Amped Up Learning StoreClick on image to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store
Curriculum Club Member Newsletter
When you sign up, you will be emailed our Tips and Tricks Newsletter with the link to an Exclusive Freebie each month, previews of upcoming holidays and coordinating products, coupons and MORE! Just click the image below to sign up!
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This article first appeared in the Homeschool Holiday September Newsletter. If you are not receiving the Newsletter, you are not a member of our Curriculum Club! It’s easy to sign up and it’s FREE.
You get an Exclusive Freebie each month, previews of upcoming holidays and coordinating products, coupons and MORE! Just click the image below to sign up!
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Have you read the series of books by Barbara Robinson? The series follows the Herdman family and their antics, through three novels: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Best School Year Ever, and The Best Halloween Ever.
In the BEST Halloween Ever, the mayor of the town cancels Halloween because he is afraid of the pranks the Herdmans will pull off this year.
Well, in 1977, My mom cancelled Halloween for my younger brother and I. Not because of our antics, but because we had just moved to GIGANTIC California from Teeny Tiny New Jersey and she was too frightened to let us go Trick Or Treating in the apartment complex we lived in. We were waiting for construction to be finished on our neighborhood home with the proverbial white picket fence. I was 6, my brother was 3. He didn’t really know anything about Halloween, but I did. My older brother was 7 years my senior, so he had “outgrown” Halloween being 13 and all. My mom hatched a plan so we could still Trick – Or Treat. She bought bags of different candy, and she went behind one bedroom door, and my older brother went behind the other. Little Brother and I dressed in our costumes and giggled and went back and forth between those two doors knocking and saying “Trick or Treat” until the candy ran out! We had the BEST TIME! I cherished and held this Halloween in my heart for years! My Mom actually ALWAYS made Halloween special. During my childhood, we could have children come inside on Halloween night to play my Mom’s games. Everyone in the neighborhood looked forward to seeing what she would be dressed as each year and loved reaching into her containers for a strip of paper that would reveal their prize!
When my 3 Bugs came along, I began hosting Family Halloween parties the weekend before or after Halloween. We incorporated the “Indoor” Trick or Treating in memory of my Mom!
You may be in a situation, for whatever the reason, that Trick or Treating from door to door isn’t an option. Even weather is a major factor in some areas year to year. There have been “Whisperings” for months about Halloween 2020 and what THAT means…I’m sure where you live will have their own recommendations.
Don’t cancel Halloween... with some quick thinking, costumes, candy and any door – Halloween is one event that The Show Can Go On!!!!
And who knows, perhaps it will be the (WORST) BEST Halloween Ever! I certainly Hope it is!
(My Brother and I on that now FAMOUS Halloween 1976)
– Mrs. Crabtree
Happy Hive Homeschooling – Providing experiences for homeschoolers, classroom teachers and families looking for a reason to celebrate.
The solar system offers so much to learn. As a homeschooler we could easily spend an entire year of science just exploring this topic. I went a little crazy planning product for world Space Week…. so much so I didn’t get it all done IN TIME for World Space week! The ideas just kept coming. Let me introduce you to them:
Fascinating Facts
Product production began with a set of informational slides – one for each planet and companion worksheets. Fact sheets are also provided to make the product homeschool friendly, or to provide a visual aide for classroom learners. Honestly, classrooms and Homeschools are not *that* different. Having worked in both settings, I hope my products are versatile enough for both.
Available year round on your favorite teacher marketplace for $3.00. Slide Presentation, Fact Sheet, Mini book and a variety of Companion Worksheets for multiple skill levels.
Classroom teachers are using technology we may or may not be using at home, and as a result, I have included digital worksheet that are what I call “remote ready” at no extra charge. Learners can fill in the blanks using text boxes or by drag and drop when the google slides are in “edit” mode. For the printable version learners simply fill in the blanks the “old fashioned” way with pencil, or they cut and paste. Young learners can trace the names of the planets. There is something for everyone!
Phases of the Moon
I personally didn’t study the phases of the moon until a college level astronomy class. At least that’s how I remember it. Perhaps if I were to learn the phases with some of the hands on activities they have now I would remember. There are plenty of other sellers out there offering clever cookie representations of the phases… I went with a bit of a more traditional pencil/ paper route…with your “digital” options!
Available on your favorite marketplace for $2.50 (this way you have enough to purchase cookies!) Learn the Phases of the Moon and practice them with the companion worksheets in both paper and digital formats.
Homeschool Holiday offers the Phases of the Moon in the same format as the planets: slide presentation, fact sheets and mini book. After exploring the facts in the way your learners are most comfortable (Or you can use a combination of methods!) whip out the companion worksheets. There are traditional fill in the blank ( or type in the blank if you are using the digital resources) as well as cut and paste (or digital drag and drop). There are worksheets for multiple age levels as well. Young learners can trace over the phases of the moon while they listen.
Have your own Curriculum? Just need a quick Craft?
This awesome craft is only $2.00 on your favorite Teacher marketplace. It comes in print-and go color as well as color your own versions. A great supplement to ANY solar system curriculum.
Perhaps you have your own solar system curriculum or you have studied it in the past. I get it. This quick craft is just what you need to Celebrate World Space Week – or to “top off” your own studies of the planets!
Family Game or Center Activity
The Solar System Memory Games make a great family game night or afternoon activity as well as a classroom center. Just print the cards onto a thick cardstock, laminate for durability and cut apart. Play one of the 4 different games, or combine all the cards into one big game.
$2.00 for 4 different Memory Games
Learners can match picture to picture or picture to text depending on the level you choose for them.
Finally – a Freebie!
If you just want our quickest, and easiest and FREEST Planets resource – Visit my Amped Up Learning Store and download this Word Search. – It is only Available on the Amped Up Learning Market Place. When you download this FREEBIE you agree to be added to the Homeschool Holiday “Curriculum Club” Newsletter List. We send out a Newsletter Monthly and you will also get access to our exclusive Member’s Only Area where you can download more Freebies that can only be found there! The newsletter also gets sent when we announce new products we are especially excited about, as well as when an especially exciting freebie has been added to the Member’s only area. Your inbox will not be flooded.
Don’t worry – I value your time and privacy as a homeschooler or a classroom educator. We are all on the same team! You can unsubscribe at anytime.
If you would like access to more FREEBIES, consider joining our CURRICULUM CLUB. You can sign up fast and Free by clicking HERE – You will get access to our Member’s only area and our Happy Hive Newsletter once a Month!
We hope you’ll subscribe to Homeschool Holiday Blog posts so you never miss a Fun Holiday! Simply sign up along the left to receive a notification every time we post something new! – Because with Homeschool Holiday there’s always something to Celebrate!
Be sure to visit your favorite shopping platform to purchase more great curriculum:
Click on image to visit my Amped Up Learning StoreClick on image to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store
The job of teacher and Mom are some of the hardest on the planet. Some days I long for a job at a coffee shop where I just follow a recipe and “do my job”.
Teaching and homeschooling are not quite like that. Every child, and I mean EVERY CHILD is different. Even with over 20 years of experience, I still get thrown some pretty tough curve balls. Those balls dance, and sing before they cross home plate, and some days, I don’t think I have a chance of fielding them.
Hello – copywork. Copywork offers something for even my most diverse of learning styles. Copywork is: spelling, handwriting, grammar, reading and character education wrapped into one!
The character education part of copywork is my favorite, because I can find a meaningful quote for EACH CHILD (or student in my class) based on behaviors they are presenting.
Once my copywork routine is established, they don’t even realize I have “targeted” them in any way.
There is no wrong way to use copywork, this is simply how I used it in my home (and classroom). Feel free to adapt to your needs!
Learner reads the quote or passage aloud or the passage is read to them.
Learner traces over the passage. I imagine they are saying the words as they write them :-), I mean that’s what I do!
Learner copies the passage onto their own paper, working as neatly as they are able. For the youngest of learners tracing may be enough. This can be done daily, with the same quote, and the quote can be recited from memory at the end of the week, or it can simply be copied once.
The teacher should be mindful of age, ability and any learning challenges such as pencil grip, dysgraphia, or other possible processing differences.
Discuss the quote, what it means, who said it and how it applies to their life. – This is truly where the magic happens.
Have a child who is burning through money? “A penny saved, is a penny earned. ” Benjamin Franklin
Do you have a child who continually doesn’t reach their goals? “When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.” – Confucius
Struggling with a friend? “There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” St. Thomas Aquinas
You can use ANYTHING for copywork. Even a favorite work of literature.
Because learners must take their time and COPY neatly, or be asked to re-do the work, the opportunity to praise is built in! Well selected copywork provides opportunity for discussion on CHARACTER and behaviors that make for good students as well as good humans!
If they don’t see the connection between the quotes and their life, keep trying. The connection will happen. “I’m sorry you don’t have money for a new Lego set. Remember when we did that copywork about a penny saved and earned? How do you think that might help? ”
September 28/29th (depending on the website referenced) is Confucius day. Confucius is the UTIMATE of all teachers. He represents exactly what it means to educate without discrimination. Confucius never refused a student because of his social standing. His only requirement was that his students possess a desire to learn.
Not to compare myself to someone so great, but this too is all I want in a student, that they possess a desire to learn. I hope if they have somehow lost their way I can inspire them with a little old-fashioned copywork.
In honor of his teachings, I put together this Copywork Pack of 7 different Confucius Quotes you can use in your home or classroom. There are also links / QR codes to short, informational videos about Confucius so your learners can get a sense of who he was as a person, and why the things he sad so long ago matter.
We have several different copywork items available on your preferred shopping platform. Including a set of FREE copywork for Juneteenth.
If you would like access to more FREEBIES, consider joining our CURRICULUM CLUB. You can sign up fast and Free by clicking HERE – You will get access to our Member’s only area and our Happy Hive Newsletter once a Month!
We hope you’ll subscribe to Homeschool Holiday Blog posts so you never miss a Fun Holiday! Simply sign up along the left to receive a notification every time we post something new! – Because with Homeschool Holiday there’s always something to Celebrate!
Be sure to visit your favorite shopping platform to purchase more great curriculum:
Click on image to visit my Amped Up Learning StoreClick on image to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store
Growing up “Baby” was my best friend. I could tell him anything. He never judged me, and was always supportive. My mom joked that she was going to have the florist incorporate Baby into my wedding bouquet. There was no need, he went with us on our honeymoon.
Multiple Buddies made life easier
I didn’t exactly “force” my children to have a special buddy, but knowing the trauma of misplacing baby – let’s just say I was prepared for them to have special buddies.
My oldest was showered with every animal under the sun shortly after birth. Somehow she managed to get a cow down off the edge of her crib. When I figured out she had taken to him, I quickly secured ” quintuplets”. A bit excessive in hind site, but it worked. Bulloney as he came to be called, was easy to swap out at nap time and launder. Once he was forgotten at the babysitters…but I said he was in the back of the truck in the back pack. Daddy met us at home, got the back pack out of the back – and low and behold – Bulloney appeared. That was one cryptic phone call.
My middle we presented with triplet ducks, and being the easy going child, she just accepted them. Not all three at once mind you… the same routine of bait and switch went on for years. Eventually kids are observant and the slightest details GET NOTICED – but by then the need for secrecy was up and a pile of cows and ducks remained on the girls’ beds.
Third child made his own decisions
My son, and the youngest did not want anything to do with the frogs we carefully picked out for his buddy. In fact to this day they appear brand new. Instead he swiped a stuffed Orca, Shamu the whale we got for Megan at Sea World a few months earlier and would not let go. Megan being the easy going child was fine with it. Shamu became – Baboo and the struggle of having a child with only ONE buddy became very real.
Baboo, like his “namesake” Shamu the Orca liked to jump and one day jumped right out of the truck while we were getting the three bugs strapped into car seats. He was very quiet, and since it was a parking lot, we were not in the “splash zone”.
When we got home, Douglas cried because Baboo was gone. Mommy panicked as if Douglas himself was gone as well. Back to the store we went – and Thank the heavens someone had put Baboo up onto a light post where we could see him easily! This prompted Daddy to invent Buddy seatbelts. Now everyone got buckled in the car (and the strollers!)
Baboo is much more worn than the cows or the ducks, because he did not rotate. He did however spark a collection of Orca stuffed animals to beat all collections. Baboo became Big Baboo, when a smaller version was added. We have Medium Baboo as well as tiny and Humongous Baboo. After that I’m not sure they get names any more. Just last weekend I picked one up I found in Michaels. My Husband said… “You know he’s 16 right? I don’t think he wants that. “
This is Orville (his tag had a name, he got lucky.) He has been sitting on my son’s desk for a week. I don’t think he -minded- getting an additional orca from his mom, even if they don’t all live on his bed any longer!
National Shamu the Whale Day
Today happens to be National Shamu the Whale Day. It’s purpose is to raise awareness for Orca whales. Here at the Happy Hive we love our little pod of orca whales.
It seems others are Orca fans as well. Our Orca Paper Plate Activity is a BEST SELLER… out selling the Cow and Duck designed after the other *Buddies* as well as EVERY OTHER design we stock!
Dollar Deal!
If you would like to make our Orca Paper Plate ( or any of our other animals!) head over to your favorite online Marketplace to grab it. Paper Plate Animal Patterns are only $1.00 each!
In our house we are big Super Hero fans. In the hero world, characters have back stories – or “origin” stories. Honestly EVERYONE has an “Origin Story” These are the events that shape you into the person you are.
September 25th is Math Storytelling Day, so here is my MATH origin story….
Math is one of the subjects it seems learners either love or run from screaming… I was the kid that ran screaming! Now as an adult I don’t know why. I can’t pinpoint when I began to dislike Math. Looking back, and with over 25 years in education I believe I was ALLOWED to have that attitude. Those that loved me just “accepted” I wasn’t good at Math, and I was strong in Language Arts, and moved on. I spent my entire education avoiding Math. Can you IMAGINE my reaction when I was presented my first teaching contract for 4th grade and told there was a separate Math teacher? When I taught public school I got by for 1 year, then I rallied the other 4th grade teachers and we departmentalized. Guess who DIDN’T teach Math again! (YOU GUESSED IT!)
When I was presenting Math to my children I was very careful with my attitude. Attitude is everything. I presented the “Problems” as opportunities. We didn’t solve Word Problems, for example – we solve Math Mysteries! When it was time for Math performed OPERATIONS. If you would like to see more about the powerful use of word choice I have a post about it HERE.
When the outgrew Momma, I purchased an online teaching curriculum and off they went!
It took until I was 40 – yes 40 to find my comfort and dare I even say… Love of Math. I finally was in a job setting where I was not able to run screaming from Math any longer. I was 100% THE 4th grade Math teacher. At the school in which I accepted the position was a wonderful friend, who had, in the past been the 4th grade Math teacher, and happened to love Math. No matter how many times I interrupted what she was doing, she patiently explained whatever I needed, when I needed it – sometimes coming to my classroom to be the “guest teacher” if time permitted. She would also come after school to tutor me so I’d be prepared to teach the next day, patiently and lovingly explaining to a 40 year old woman, 4th grade Math as if there wasn’t anything “wrong” with the situation. I was finally ready to learn Math.
WHAT AN EXAMPLE that class saw. They saw their 40 year old teacher admit when she needed help, and their former 1st grade teacher come to the rescue! I learned my multiplication tables right with them. They always won. I will never be faster than a 4th grader, and that’s OK. I know them now.
Math Storytelling Day is a day designed to get people talking about Math in a positive way – to help that “run screaming” attitude. It’s funny, I actually met someone BRILLIANT off the charts in math who runs screaming from Language Arts. It was truly an “Ah-ha” moment for me. Just as I was pushed through the education system for being a strong reader and my Math skills slipped further and further… this learner slipped through due to his excellent Math skills. I’m not blaming anyone, or even the system. Kids are crafty little cutie-pies and boy they come up with all sorts of cover ups to avoid the dreaded (Insert pepto – bismol subject here).
While I will never love Math in the way I love Reading, I do wish I had had someone inspire me earlier than 40 so my education would have been more balanced and that fear would not have grown and grown.
Math Storytelling day is a day to help bring balance into the lives of our learners. It’s the best of BOTH worlds… MATH and STORY. At the very least… SHARE YOUR MATH JOURNEY with the learners in your life… love math or run screaming…. Your HONEST reflection will impact those around you and it just may make a difference.
I hope you will celebrate today in the most amazing Mathematical ways…
Cook
Play a game ( Monopoly, Rack-O, TriOminos, Memory…)
Tangrams
Pattern Blocks, regular blocks, Legos
Puzzles
Cut things into Fractions
Or you can use the old stand by… Roll in the TV and VCR and put on Good ‘ole Donald in Math Magic Land! Oh wait – now we have YouTube. I actually watched this on – GASP – film!!!! (Yup, I’m THAT old!)
This Classic answers the Age old question about how Math is used “in real life”.
Mrs. Crabtree’s first experience with MathMagic land was on a reel-to-reel movie projector in a classroom in the late 1970’s. It is a FAVORITE of mine to show any learners I can!
I personally love when Math and Language Arts mix. Take for example, Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol. This detective is often solving cases using the same critical thinking skills it takes to perform math operations. The books also follow a somewhat predictable format and encourage critical thinking in the reader. The reader is often able to figure out the mystery as well. There are 10 mysteries in each book.
Looking for a good Encyclopedia Brown book? They are all self contained. I suggest: Encyclopedia Brown Solves them all, The case of the Two-Dollar Bill.
Some of my other Math Favorites:
The Grapes of Math
Penrose the Mathematical Cat
Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School
Today is all about kids creating their OWN math stories. They don’t have to write a complete work of literature, but how about these ideas:
Write a set of Math Mysteries (Word Problems) for a sibling or friend to solve
Write a math related children’s story (counting, shapes, mini math mysteries)
I hope you will consider using our MATH MYSTERIES in your lessons this year. They are not a complete full year curriculum, but instead designed to help introduce the language of Math, and how to use your super sleuth powers to solve the operations!
Click the image to purchase Math Mysteries on Amped Up Learning. $1.25
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Click on image to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers StoreClick on image to visit my Amped Up Learning Store
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With Love,
“Mrs. Crabtree”
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