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3 Reasons Hands-on Geography is Important in Middle and High School Homeschool

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

It’s easy enough to understand the importance of hands-on geography in the younger years, but it is equally important to understand why hands-on geography is important in middle and high school. Also, look at my page homeschool middle school and how to homeschool high school page for more fun tips. Too, look at my page Homeschool Geography for hands-on and simple ideas and tips.

Having one child who rolls his eyes at the mere mention of hands-on and prefers taking a hands-off approach and another child who fails to comprehend anything unless it’s hands-on, I want to share tips on why it’s important to keep homeschool geography hands-on.

3 Reasons Hands-on Geography is Important in Middle and High School Homeschool @ Tiina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Hands-on geography requires participation or collaboration.

The tendency when teaching this age group is to assign a boring text, drill and kill and then move on.

Geography is a subject that is fascinating because it is not only about describing the earth, but it includes pictures, maps, diagrams and it includes a description of life here on earth.

It is a subject that is overflowing with possibilities because to some extent it also includes man’s interaction with the resources of the earth.

With all of these facets to study about geography, collaboration gives the middle and high school student the teaching reins.

Hands-on geography requires active and not passive participation or studying in isolation.

My sons have taken the teaching reins as we have studied North Star Geography.  That is one reason too why we didn’t just crack open the curriculum and study the first page.

When my boys studied together, they skipped around to hone in on a part of geography that interested them first.

Guess what? You can do this when studying geography because geography covers so many topics.  You can have several trails in geography and decide which topics interests you.

homeschool high schoolgeography north star geography @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Contrary to what some people may think, hands-on learning shifts the focus of learning to the responsibility of your child.

Middle and high school years are about teaching them more independence and project learning is one of the best ways to do that.

That is one reason we use North Star Geography because it has projects that foster independent learning skills.

Geography Bundle

I will continue to use North Star Geography, which is for middle and high school kids, with Tiny now that Mr. Awesome 2015 is about ready to graduate.

Our middle and high school students just don’t know geography.

Just because a child is in middle or high school doesn’t mean his learning style has changed.  We are in a visual world and visual learners are valued now more than ever.

Too, the conventional method of throwing a map to outline at the student and a textbook to read is not working.  More and more students, including homeschoolers are graduating with little to no knowledge of geography.

Visual learners who learn best through hands-on still need projects and activities at the high school level. Rote memorization does not work for all kids.  We need to abandon the notion that hands-on geography is not for mature learners.

We want to avoid turning out middle and high school students who are geography illiterate and conventional methods are not working.  Returning to what did work in the elementary grades which was hands-on learning without doing babyish projects is key to helping our upper grade kids make meaningful connections.

Hands-on geography instills a greater awareness and fellow feeling for other cultures and historical activities.

When we studied about the American Civil War, geography took on another whole meaning when we tied it to our family roots where our ancestors fought in the battles.

It is one thing to read about history and geography in a dry text book and another to visit the physical area and walk the grounds.

Connecting geography with a physical location helps a middle and high school student to develop higher critical thinking skills.

For example, after studying together and creating maps of the battlefields during the American Civil War it lead to discussions about whether or not man learned anything about history from that bloody war?

At the high school level, my boys have formed strong opinions about the war and I am able to pass on our family values.  If they studied this in isolation, they might not have reached some of the same conclusions.

Middle and high school should be a time for activities and projects that are selective and purposeful.

It’s true that many times I didn’t insist that my son who preferred a hands-off approach to join us, however, many times I did insist and not give him a choice.

Our high school kids still need guidance, direction and interaction with us. They are preparing for adulthood, which means they are not ready yet.

I am so grateful that North Star Geography sees the value of hands-on learning in the upper grades and I will continue to use it with Tiny for the next couple of years.

When I asked both of my oldest sons what they remembered about geography, it never was about a book, but it is always about a hands-on project we worked on together.

Also, you may like to read:

Hugs and love ya,

How Far Out to Homeschool Lesson Plan

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

There are a few tips and tricks to know how far out to homeschool lesson plan. Also, look at my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter.

Whether you use boxed curriculum or put together your own homeschool lesson plans, there is some level of planning involved.

After I started putting together most of my own curriculum, I realized soon enough that I had to lesson plan.

Wanting to be prepared for the what if something happened scenario, I jumped and planned for the whole year.

How Far Out to Homeschool Lesson Plan @ Tiina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Yes, I spent hours and hours poring over all my curriculum and plotting my course. I had written my plans for the whole year.

Homeschool Lesson Planning

I was prepared, feeling super competent and I kicked off my homeschool year with a tenacity that I won’t easily forget.

Then, 10 days into my smokin’ hot full homeschoool year scheduled plan all of my kids got sick.

We took off one week and then two weeks from school. And the other thing I won’t easily forget was how utterly stressed and defeated I felt a few short weeks into the year. I was already behind and stressed out.

The worst thing was I brought it all on myself.

My lesson planning journal looked like one great big huge mess as I started marking off and changing dates. (Btw, this is how my idea of an undated planner was born.)

How Far Out to Lesson Plan Is Too Much?

I learned a very valuable lesson that I want you to learn from and that is planning for the year was too far out.

Because I did not have a classroom and have to produce lesson plans for year, I learned that lesson planning should stay in sync with my family’s need.

Public school teachers are going to have class regardless if a child is sick or absent, but that is not the case with learning at home.

Again, I had failed to step back and think what would work best not only for my family, but for me as the teacher.

I was still modeling public school thinking when I had plan for the whole year.

How Far Out to Lesson Plan is Too Little?

After I learned that valuable lesson, the next thing I did was to rewrite my lesson plans for the week.

Failure again.

Though I had good intentions to plan for the next week, the week simply got away from me and before I knew it, it was Sunday and the next school week was upon me with no plan.

If you have been attempting lesson planning, you know that it can be downright exhausting exploring a system that will work for you.

Though it may seem like you have prepared for the year well by lesson planning for a year, I would never encourage you to do that.

Another very important point that I didn’t even grasp until I was a few more years into homeschooling was how fast kids can move up in levels.

They can quickly grasp one point and how slow they can be to comprehend another.

When Homeschool Lesson Planning is Just Right

So it brought me full circle back to one of the reasons I started homeschooling, which is to go at my child’s pace.

After I weighed all of this, I realized that I had to plan far out enough so that when life happens, I still have a plan, but not so far ahead that I can’t change my plans or toss them all together if my children were behind or if they jumped ahead.

I found a comfortable pace which is to plan about 2 weeks to one month ahead.

I stuck closer to a 30 day schedule.  Like my menu planning, I found a comfortable pace of 30 days gave me the whole month to plan for the next month.

I didn’t feel so pressured knowing I could take my time planning for the next month.

Too, if one week or so was hectic or I simply wasn’t in the mood to be the teacher, I still had several more weeks to plan for the next month.

Also, it was easier to change on a dime when my kids were ready to move ahead a level because I didn’t have months and months planned.

With a 30 day lesson plan, my mood not only changed about lesson planning but about teaching.

Homeschool Lesson Planning Just Right

I wasn’t constantly panting trying to keep up, but I could easily prepare my materials for the next month and gather hands-on supplies.

Another tip to planning is to realize that planning generally is not the same thing as planning each day.

I do encourage you to generally plug in themes or topics you want to cover each month for the year because this gives you a framework to start building your daily lesson plans on.

Don’t follow the methods used by public school teachers, who have to have lesson plans for a year.

Don’t plan for 30 kids, but just for your kids.

Take advantage of the flexibility of homeschooling by planning only 2 weeks to 30 days ahead so that you change when you need to, but have a fall back plan when life happens.

How far out have you been lesson planning?

Look at these other helps and tips!

Hugs and love ya,

Homeschool Grad 2015 – Proud Homeschool Momma

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

{Warning: Proud homeschool daddy and momma here with lots of happy tears. Viewing these pictures can be a bit icky to look over as all I have going through my mind is that this is the last time for Mr. Awesome’s  “last day of school pictures”. See, I already have tears!}

Homeschool Grad 2015 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Mr. Awesome 2 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Such a good looking homeschool graduate.

Mr. Awesome 3 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Forget my flat hair as Ecuadorean weather can’t be predicted and we had rain, but somehow that didn’t matter as we hired a professional photographer and went dashing all over Cuenca for photos.Mr. Awesome 4 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

And of course there is no shortage for beautiful places here to take memorable graduation pictures.

Mr. Awesome 5 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool PlusToo, somehow things turn out just like they should be despite all my worrying.

Mr. Awesome 7 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I always say this to you, which is that each kid is different, but somehow I forget my own advice.

Mr. Awesome 8 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Mr. Awesome didn’t want the official cap and gown photo. I had looked all over everywhere here to find one.  But I forgot one simple thing, just ask him.

He didn’t want a cap and gown or photo like Mr. Senior 2013 did.

Like the rain that day (unplanned), it somehow fit perfectly with what happened in our homeschool journey as we had a day of reflecting.

Mr. Awesome 9 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Somehow things just turn out better and like they should even when unplanned things happen.

Mr. Awesome 10 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

As a mom and especially at such a momentous time as graduation, you want it memorable for your child.

Mr. Awesome 11 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool PlusWhere one kid may want to celebrate one way, the next kid wants to do certain other things like taking traditional pictures here in South America.

Mr. Awesome 12 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

So he embraced  the life that we are living right now.

Mr. Awesome 13 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

And spent the day savoring the surroundings we do have which are truly unique.

Mr. Awesome 15 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus And where Mr. Senior 2013 was a bit more traditional, Mr. Awesome 2015 is not.

As a mom I just embraced it for the day and it was his day.

Mr. Awesome 16 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

This dad and grad picture is priceless because it’s one Mr. Awesome wanted.

Mr. Awesome 17 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

And yes, he wanted this one too of proud mom and grad.

Mr. Awesome 18 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Despite the rain,  bit of cold weather and wet, Mr. Awesome 2015 is just who he is, the sweet baby that didn’t worry about reading or all that academic stuff, but turned out embracing it all in his time.

Finding the right dose of humor and easygoingness was the key to homeschooling this son.

Mr. Awesome 19 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Congratulations Trever, mom loves you and we are all so proud of you!

Hope you enjoyed this special day of family photos and I can’t wait to share pictures of our party!

Hugs and love ya

Tina Signature 2015c

If you want to see the pictures of my first homeschool graduate Mr. Senior 2013 look at my 10 Days of Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation.

Homeschool Organization – Preschool/Kindergarten Free Morning Routine Flip Cards

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Homeschool Organization

Homeschool organization is something that should be fun. Even the sweetest littlest homeschooler deserves fun and cool organizing tools. Look at my other tips for how to homeschool kindergarten.

And this is one organizing tool that I wished I had when my boys were in the preschool and Kindergarten years.

It is only after training them that I can look back and see what would have worked and teaching homeschool organization starts from the very beginning.

Guess what? You get the benefit of what I know now and I am so excited to share these morning routine flip cards.

Mr. Senior 2013 following his rouinte @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus. Homeschool Organization - Preschool/Kindergarten Free Morning Routine Flip Cards

{I surprised Mr. Senior 2013 as I caught him following his routine and hanging up his shirt. He was 3 years old here.}

The printable is based off the chore or routine that my boys did or that I was training them to do.

Too, I moved away from calling them a chore chart because it was more of training my boys to follow a routine. 

I wanted them to see what came next in the morning and learn to follow it.

Though I used many chore charts on the wall, a flip card on an “O” ring was a much better idea because they flipped the card as they were finished and were ready for the next day.

Hang the O ring cards on a hook in their room and not much wall space is required.

Homeschool Organization Preschool Morning Routine @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

23 Things that can be included in the Morning Routine for a Preschooler or Kindergartener

Look at these things that a preschooler or Kindergartener can do to help around the house and create a routine too.

It’s the best way to start teaching homeschool organization. This is the age that most kids love to learn new things and want to help you around the house.

Again, all of these are based off my chore charts I created through the years and I have added my list here for you.

  • make their bed
  • toilet paper call or refill the toilet paper roll or add more underneath the cabinet
  • get ready for the Bible read aloud
  • hang their clothes up
  • water the plants
  • computer time
  • feed the dog/pets
  • practice or listen to music
  • brush their teeth
  • empty trash baskets
  • fold their clothes and put away in the drawer
  • eat breakfast
  • put their books away in their bookshelf
  • put their toys away
  • sweep
  • set the table
  • take their dirty clothes to the laundry room on wash day
  • fold clothes
  • help wash dishes or work outside
  • change out the hand towel in the bathrooms
  • dusting
  • unload part of the dishwasher
  • wipe down counters, walls and/or baseboards

With all this being said, I did make the mistake of making my list too big each day.

I learned that 5 things to do each day was enough to help train my boys.

So I created these flip cards with only five spaces on each day.

Creating Routine Flip Cards for the Littlest Homeschooler

Here is how to use them:

  • I created 2 sets of flip cards so that the days can be mixed and matched for more than one child.
  • There are 7 days with the names of  the days of the weeks.
  • At the top of the card for each day is a happy face for them to mark off if they completed the routine.  There is a sad face too but hopefully you won’t need to use that picture.
  • There are two pages of pictures for you to cut out and glue on the correct day.

One reason I didn’t add the pictures to the flip cards is because the routine changes each day. 

Also, when my boys were that young and ready to climb in my lap, we would read aloud first.

Bed making didn’t come until after they ate breakfast and brushed their teeth.

Each child is different and your routine is different from mine because you know your child.

So you choose which 5 things that you want your child to do each day. One day they may begin with watering the plants and the next day you may want them to take their laundry to the laundry room on wash day.

  • After you print out how many of each page that you need, glue them on each day of the week and laminate it.
  • Then punch a hole and put it on a O ring. The beauty of this is too that your child can hold it and walk around with it. Then flip it to the next day and they are ready for the routine of the next day.

This is what I have found ideal after I trained my boys and it is what I would have preferred.

I was only able to do this with my last son but then again, my printable skills were not so hot then, but I still created it.

I hope you can use the printable I have now made and will enjoy many years using them.

Download the free printable routine flip cards here.

Hugs and love ya,

Also, check out:

The Great Homeschool Hoax – Public School At Home?

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Like a lot of new homeschoolers, I too just copied the public school system in everything from keeping a similar schedule, to curriculum selection, and even testing my first child, Mr. Senior 2013.

Public School at Home

You see, I was doing public school at home.

I hadn’t embraced the freedom that homeschooling offered. I was afraid.

I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to lesson plan, to teach all of my children at one time, that my children were going to be behind, that I needed testing for grade placement, that my kids need other children their age and that I would totally fail them as an educator.

The Great Homeschool Hoax – Public School At Home. Understanding the two COMPLETELY different approaches is key by Tina Robertson

Did I mention I even had feelings of guilt questioning myself if I was a good mother?

Why do we do that as moms?

I agree that today is so much more easier to homeschool because of all the resources available to us.

However, in one particular way homeschooling was easier way back when because homeschoolers then grasped the full meaning of homeschooling.

About 10 years or so ago, public school at home providers popped up and became popular.

The meaning of homeschooling has become obscured because these companies tout that they support homeschooling. They may or may not.

Can You Really Have One Foot in Homeschool and One in Public School?

Until you let go of the public school at home mentality which models everything after the public school and where you are only assisting your children at home while somebody else teaches them, you will never embrace the freedom homeschooling offers.

Public School at Home Characteristics

  • biggest difference – government controlled
  • normally offered online
  • have testing required
  • have parent and teacher conferences
  • maintain a public school schedule
  • curriculum is put together by educational consultants even though public school at home touts that you as the parent choose readers or have some choice. You may or may not.
  • can be accredited
  • tout they are free because they are public school and public school is free
  • have a teacher assigned to your child
  • a curriculum is one grade level straight across the board a/k/a boxed curriculum or one size fits all.
  • mostly uses textbooks. Some online school use only textbooks while others throw in a few classical readers.
  • schedule is set up to complete on their timetable. Though many programs offer flexibility because they are government controlled, schedules have to be maintained.

If this sounds like the arrangement you just left, then why would you want to repeat it at home?

Homeschool Characteristics

  • biggest difference – parent controlled
  • you can choose all online curriculum, part physical books or mix and match
  • testing becomes the right of the parent who knows the child best and understands that a test is nothing more than a tool
  • conferences are not needed because as the tutor of your children you know what they’re learning. Even if you just begin to homeschool, it doesn’t take long for you to know exactly which subjects your child excels in and which subjects he will need support for.
  • your schedule is adopted based on your family’s needs and not based on an outdated school schedule, which was set up based on a society that was much more agricultural than our society is today.  If schooling year round suits your family, you simply begin and don’t need approval by a governmental agency.
  • curriculum is put together by a parent because she knows the child the best. If the curriculum is not working, it can be changed on a dime. Being in control doesn’t mean you can’t use something laid out by another company, but then that is your choice.
  • accreditation is no longer a term which homeschoolers fear because they know it doesn’t have anything to do with the value of an education. Be sure to read my article, Accreditation – Removing the Shroud of Mystery.
  • homeschoolers know that public school at home is not free. It may be cost-free, but given up freedom like control, having stressful deadlines for testing and parent teacher conferences cost.  Many homeschool educuators give up well-paying jobs because their desire to stay home with their kids is greater than their desire to pursue a career they may even be passionate about.  They know that homeschooling for excellence doesn’t always mean having the most expensive curriculum though they are willing to sacrifice other things if a pricier curriculum is better. Be sure to read my article, Is Homeschooling Expensive? Check out this Essential Guide in How to Homeschool Well on a Budget.
  • children are tutored one-to-one by their parents. Reports show that parents play a major role in their child having above normal intelligence when tutored.
  • the parent stays in control of whether they should purchase a grade level in a box or mix and match grade levels adjusted to the child’s natural abilities.
  • homeschool families don’t have to settle for a few well placed classical or living books placed into a curriculum, but can choose living books consistently.
  • the homeschool schedule is completely flexible to adjust to the needs of the family each year.

There is not anything that the public school at home approaches offers that an informed and hardworking educator at home can’t overcome.

If it’s structure you crave, then choose a laid out program where you are not having constant interference from an outside source.

If you need a more budget friendly curriculum be sure to check out my post Digital Homeschool Curriculum – Big Ol’ List.

Pursuing sports, music, art or any other extra curricular involvement is done easier when you set up your schedule to fit your children’s passion.

Being in control of my children’s education is one of the most satisfying and fulfilling jobs as a mother and parent I ever could have.

We were never promised it would be easy in raising our children, but they are blessings.

What we are assured of is that we will be provided with what we need to aim our children at their targets.

I have been blessed over and over many times, but not without some tears shed, lots of elbow grease, lots of prayers and a dogged determination to stick to what is best for my family. You can too!

Don’t forget so easily what many homeschoolers who homeschooled in the past knew, which is that homeschooling is a precious and extraordinary way of education that doesn’t mix with any other approach.

Look at some of these other resources that will help you to stick to the homeschooling approach.

Hugs and love ya,

The Great Homeschool Hoax - Public School at Home @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus