Homeschooling-ideas.com Newsletter - Fuel the Fire Issue #86 - November 2016
Hi!
Welcome to the eighty-sixth issue of Fuel the Fire.
If you like this newsletter, please forward the link to share it with your friends.
If you received this issue from a friend, please subscribe so you won't miss out on all the fun ideas coming in future issues.
Thanks for joining me today, and enjoy this issue!
Please note that some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links, which means if you buy I get a (very) small percentage of the sale. If you would prefer not to support this site in that way, just go to Google and search for the product mentioned yourself.
November News!
Welcome to the 86th edition of Fuel the Fire.
November already! Hard to believe isn't it. Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner!
Luckily, I have some fabulous ideas to keep you going this month. I hope you enjoy them.
Cyber Monday Sale!!
My short ebook, Stick-ability is getting a revamp, and to celebrate I will be lowering the price from $6 to ONLY $0.99 for the week beginning Cyber Monday.
Need a reminder? Sign up here and I will send you a quick email when the sale starts:
Resources, Read-Alouds, and Recommendations
In this section of my newsletter, I want to bring you great recommendations that I think you will enjoy in your homeschooling.With Christmas and Thanksgiving looming I have been thinking about what kinds of lapbooks or unit studies you might need over the holidays. Here are some ideas from Currclick!
Fuel the Fire in November
Science Books
Yes, I am still working through my bookshelf so I can recommend some of the fantastic books we have used in our homeschooling. This month I bring you - Science Books!
We have read some amazing science books - and my son has gone on to study Chemistry and Pysics so it must have worked :)
Want to check out the list? - head over to my blog.
Make Holiday Gifts
I realize I have quite a lot of projects on the site that would make fantastic homemade holiday gifts!
Here is a list of some of the best.
- Ceramic plate painting (as above)
- Needlefelting
- Make a Calendar
- Kool Aid Bath Salts
- Print a Book
- Blank notebooks - These make great stocking fillers
- Dye yarn
- Yarn painting
- Rock painting
And don't forget I have lots of DIY Handprint templates in my Etsy store!
I hope that gives you some great ideas for gift making sessions!
Brain Hemisphere Hat
This came up in a conversations about pumpkins (I know!) and it reminded me to share with you. I know you are going to love it.
The brain hat is made from paper and free to download. It is the genius work of Ellen J Mchenry and is even available in several languages.
Head over to Ellen's website to download your copy.
Christmas Reading
I think I have mentioned before that we have a lovely Christmas tradition where I make the effort to read a Christmas story to the children every evening in December.
Sitting in front of the fire on a dark December evening, snuggled up and reading, feels like quite an old-fashioned thing to do! But it really helps to remind us what Christmas is all about. And we have been introduced to some lovely stories this way.
I have updated my list of our favourite Christmas books for you to enjoy - along with my short reviews.
Do you have a favourite christmas story? Do let me know!
While I am on the subject of Christmas! Are you looking for something a bit different from the usual chocolate filled advent calendar?
Did you know you can get Playmobil and Lego versions?
We have had these in the past and the children really loved them. I thought you might like to take a look
Make a Yearbook
I regularly share this record keeping tip to my Facebook page:
It got me thinking about yearbooks and the different ways you could make them.
As well as just printing out the photographs and putting them in a yearly album, there are lots of online print stores that will help you make a bound photo book. Just google photo books for a whole list :)
We have done this in the past and they are great to look at. We also made a 'This is Your Life' book for my 80 year old stepdad which was a great gift.
But...
How about also using the photos to make a video? There are lots of apps and free software that lets you take your photos, add music, and put together a short video. One I have used in the past is Animoto - they have a free trial you can try it with. Here is an example video I made of my daughter at Dog Camp in 2010!
There are other free sites too. Such as ImagetoVideo and FreeMake. I am sure there will be some free apps too.
As well as having a great record of your homeschool year, wouldn't this make a great video on DVD for grandparents?
Why not give it a try?
Thanksgiving Tree
This is a lovely way to add some meaning into your Thanksgiving holidays.
Find out more about making a Thanksgiving Tree
Make a Crossword
There is lots of free software available to help them make a crossword puzzle or a wordsearch. They just need to make a list of words - and come up with some clues.
And who knows. They may start to invent all sorts of new puzzles!
Update****
I found the crosswords book date of Nov 5, 1924 in the journaling book Doing the Days.
But I double checked and the internet begs to differ! The Guinness book of records says the first book was published in January 1924 whilst FamousDaily says it was April 18, 1924. Just so you know!
Marble Mice
Most popular were the Marble Mice from the Toymaker - we had to go print off several new copies!
It is a simple little toy, but fun to make and play with. Try a Marble Mice race down a plank of wood!
Hoola Hoop Weaving
A final quick idea for you!
This fabulous idea has been around for a while, but came up on a homeschooling list recently, and made me really regret letting our dog eat our last hoola hoop!
Disney have removed the instructions from the FamilyFun website, but this site has good great pictures and you can probably work out how to make it from there.
Although the pictures show you how to remove it from the hula hoop at the end - I really liked in on it - and thought you could hang it for an effective decoration (although of course it wouldn't be a rug then!).
I think we might have to go buy another hula hoop to try this one!
Games To Play
Hand selected for your enjoyment! I didn't get any help from the children this month, so decided to get a physics theme going!- Hold Your Ground. I loved this one. Build a structure with the available blocks to shield the King and his guards from incoming projectiles. Keep the men alive long enough to advance to the next day.
- Magic Pen - A drawing puzzle game similar to Crayon Physics. Draw shapes and add hinges to make your ball collect flags..
- Perfect Balance. Stack the shapes so that they stay on the screen.
- Gem Grab. Move objects around the screen and try to guide the gem to the exit in each room.
Thanks so much for joining me for this issue of "Fuel the Fire".
Be sure to look out for the next issue on 6th December 2016. If you can't wait, then you can find a more regular injection of ideas on:
If you have any comments or suggestions to help me improve this newsletter, I would love to hear from you!
Go to Homeschooling-Ideas Home Page
