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Fun Homeschool Unit Study Egg to Sea Turtle Lesson Plans & Lapbook

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

I have some sea turtle lesson plans and sea turtle lapbook today. Grab more ideas on my lapbook ideas page. Also grab more ideas on my best homeschool unit studies page.

We made a detour on finishing up high school for a quick nature read about sea turtles.

From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook

I chose Our Sea Turtles as a spine and we weren’t disappointed.

Today, in sharing from egg to sea turtle nature unit study and lapbook, I’ve rounded up some awesome links and ideas for you.

Also, I created a fun lapbook for about upper elementary to middle school for your kids.

From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook

Of course, you can decide what ages to use the lapbook for because I never make my lapbooks baby-ish.

Using cursive font and avoiding baby-ish or goofy looking clip art the best I can, I create my lapbooks for all ages.

From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook

Sea Turtle Unit Study & Lapbook

First, let me show you how much we loved the book Our Sea Turtles.

It is a 282 page reference book with beautiful color pictures on each page.

It has several sections, including:

From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook
  • The Species, Sea Turtle Form and Function,
  • Life Cycle and History, Ecology,
  • Our Sea Turtles on Land,
  • Sea Turtles in Water and
  • Saving our Sea Turtles.
From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook

One thing we learned right away that we did not know was that not all turtles in salty waters are sea turtles.

They are truly marine animals and one of the things that makes them different is their shell.

Moreover, sea turtles don’t really have the ability to pull in their head and limbs inside although they can still withdraw their neck.

Although we know that sea turtles are mostly herbivores, we did learn that they won’t pass up some easily captured prey.

From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit

Additioally, we learned about some of the predators of the sea turtle.

The Northern raccoon, ghost crab, fire ants, laughing sea gull, bobcat, fish crow, dolphinfish, crevalle jack, tiger shark and bull shark are a few of the sea turtle predators.

From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook

What was really interesting was learning what was inside an egg. Sea turtles have an amniotic egg.

The features of a sea turtle egg include a papery eggshell that protects but is porous (to air and water vapor), and an allantois (fetal membrane) which facilitates respiration and helps with waste.

The yolk sac supplies nutrients for the embryo and it shrinks as the turtle grows.

What we didn’t know was that the amniotic sac is like the equivalent to the placenta in mammals.

Sea Turtle Lesson Plans, Guides, and Background Information.

Along with reading the book  Our Sea Turtles I really loved a lot of these resources. Too, look at some sea turtle lesson plans.

  • Journey of Survival educators guide I found super helpful and used a lot of the information from here to do the lapbook. You can read it online.
  • 22 page pdf educator’s guide has a great roundup of vocabulary words.
  • Grab this fun coloring page with crossword puzzle activity.
  • You love this Sea Turtle Inc. site for great hands-on ideas like make a sea turtle habitat, make a magnet sea turtle for older kids (cool), and a template to create your own hatchling for younger kids. So cute.

Then here is a free discussing and activity guide to use with the book Sea Turtle Science which is also good to add to your sea turtle lesson plans.

Sea Turtle EASY Hands-on Ideas and Activities

Easy Hands-on Math Build a Geometric Turtle @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Our Journey Westward

In addition, look at some of these books.

10 Sea Turtle Resources

Add some books about sea turtles and hands-on resources to your lesson or unit study to bring it to life.

Sea Turtles

Sea turtles are fascinating. Hatched from eggs smaller than a baseball, some can grow to weigh over a thousand pounds. Once adults, they can live to be around 100 years old. And when it's time to nest, they migrate more than 1,000 miles. With colorful, clear illustrations and straightforward text, Gail Gibbons introduces the eight kinds of sea turtles living in the ocean today. Learn the similarities and differences with labeled diagrams and experience the hatching of the tiny turtle babies with detailed illustrations. This updated edition now includes the most up-to-date information about these beloved reptiles, as reviewed by an expert vetter in the field of herpetology.

I'll Follow the Moon

Celebrating the love between mother and child comes an achingly beautiful story that has captured hearts around the world. Written by a new mom, by accident, when she sang a little song to her fussing newborn, I'll Follow the Moon proudly donates proceeds to charity: every book saves a turtle.

Ocean Anatomy: The Curious Parts & Pieces of the World under the Sea

Follow Rothman’s inquisitive mind and perceptive eye along shorelines, across the open ocean, and below the waves for an artistic exploration of the watery universe. Through her drawings, discover how the world’s oceans formed, why the sea is salty, and the forces behind oceanic phenomena such as rogue waves. Colorful anatomical profiles of sea creatures from crustacean to cetacean, surveys of seafaring vessels and lighthouses, and the impact of plastic and warming water temperatures are just part of this compendium of curiosities that will entertain and educate readers of all ages. 

National Geographic Readers: Sea Turtles

Who could resist celebrating sea turtles? They may seem like lazy ocean reptiles drifting with the oceans’ currents, but they are actually long-distance swimmers that spend their entire lives searching for food and a mate. What’s more, they come with their own built-in GPS, returning to the exact beach where they were born to lay their own eggs. Kids will learn all about these tranquil and mysterious animals through brilliant photography and illustrations, plus the trusted and distinctive content you love from NG Kids!

Tammy Turtle: A Tale of Saving Sea Turtles

A book that tells how turtles survive with the help of protection programs.

Our Sea Turtles: A Practical Guide for the Atlantic and Gulf, from Canada to Mexico

The book's pithy, well-organized sections are lavishly illustrated. It is a guide for anyone who is the least bit curious about these fascinating marine animals. Bite-sized installments harmonize with multiple images on each page to make this book a unique and entertaining resource. The story it tells covers understanding, experiencing, and saving our sea turtles, with descriptions of how these endangered animals contribute to our happiness and why they deserve a helping hand.

Sea Turtle Scientist (Scientists in the Field)

The mother turtle has a vital job to do: dig a nest in which she will lay eggs that will hatch into part of the next generation of leatherbacks. With only one in a thousand of the eggs for this critically endangered species resulting in an adult sea turtle, the odds are stacked against her and her offspring. 

4 PCS Sea Turtle Life Cycle

Children can see how animals change and grow. Realistic detail showing a different stage in the development of animals.

Uniquely molded textures and richly painted details bring them to life and help inspire creativity for kids.

It is a great way to expand the growth with children through physical science.

Follow the Moon Home

A triumphant story of environmental activism, community, and friendship: Acclaimed activist Philippe Cousteau and renowned author Deborah Hopkinson team up to offer a story of the powerful difference young people can make in the world. Meet Viv, who has a new home and a new school by the sea and follow her as she finds her way in a new place and helps bring together a whole community to save the sea turtles of the South Carolina coast.

The Life Cycle of a Sea Turtle

Describes the life cycle of sea turtles discussing reproduction, birth, and adult life.

Sea Turtle Media

Fun Homeschool Unit Study Egg to Sea Turtle Lesson Plans & Lapbook

Then also, our unit study reminded us of the co-op we had where my sister brought a turtle shell Native American craft made by one of her Native American friends.

From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook

I love when we have a tie in to what we learned before in one of our co-ops.

The Basement Workshop Store
From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook

Then of course a family visit to the ocean is a great field trip.

The Galveston coast near us had these new and beautiful benches that are part art and part bench.

From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook

Local schools got to decorate them with facts about the marine life that live in the ocean.

It not only makes for a beautiful enhancement to seawall, but a fun way to learn facts.

From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook

I think doing a mosaic like this would make a great art project too.

Next, here is my lapbook.

Grab this FREE Sea Turtle Lapbook | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

The minibooks include:

What Makes a Turtle a Sea Turtle?
7 Species of Sea Turtles layered book.
What Are the Sea Turtle Parts?
The Anatomy of a Sea Turtle.
Sea Turtle Tagalongs trifold book.
From Egg to Sea Turtle Life Cycle Circle book.
The Struggle to Survive.
Predators petal book.

If you’re looking to do any spring nature studies, you’ll want to get a few of the NaturExplorers. I love those studies for multiple ages.

How to Get the Free Sea Turtle Lapbook

Now, how to grab the free lapbook. The lapbook is a subscriber freebie.

 1) Sign up on my list to get my emails.
 2) Download your freebie.
3) Glad to have you following.


Look at these other links:

The Basement Workshop Store
From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook. Grab this fun sea turtle lapbook for your middle school kids and these easy hands-on activities and ideas to bring your homeschool science to life! CLICK HERE to grab it!

You’ll also love these other nature studies:


Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

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

Today I’m having a guest review a botany homeschool curriculum. I have more tips on my how to homeschool middle school page.

When looking for a science curriculum, particularly a botany homeschool curriculum for middle school I wanted something that would put most of the responsibility into the students hands.

Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

But I didn’t it so challenging that it was frustrating.

Like you, I am always searching for a just right curriculum.

Although I favor the unschooling approach, I love unschooling or relaxed schooling with some structure to our schooling days.

We do a combo of fully child led learning and some structured that is still child interest led.

To do this I asked my son what science topic he wanted to learn about, and he chose botany.

Next, I went through and picked out 4 or 5 various curriculums that I thought would be a good fit.

And let him choose from reading the sample pages and directions on those and this was the botany homeschool curriculum that he chose Botany in 8 Lessons.

Botany Homeschool Curriculum

We had both the hard copy of the student text as well as the pdf for the teacher and student sections.

I highly recommend getting the pdf and downloading just the pages you need if you are opting to just do level 1.

I have to say we have both really enjoyed the curriculum. My son is 14 and would be considered a freshman in public school.

He struggles with dyspraxia/dysgraphia, ADHD, Aspergers, Tourette’s, OCD, and anxiety. That’s a lot for a kid to deal with.

I really liked that this was an open and go science curriculum which didn’t require a lot from me other than encouragement and some accountability.

The fact that he could do most of it independently really helped his confidence also.

I think this would still be a fun and still educational botany curriculum even for highschoolers.

In addition, there are a few ways your student can cover Botany in 8 Lessons.

If you assign lessons twice a week you finish in about 8 weeks,

Or you can stretch it out and do Lesson 1, level one on the first week, and level two the next week, and so on. If you include extra activities like videos, work in the garden and field trips, you can get 16 weeks out of it.

About Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

We chose to do science twice a week, making each lesson cover two weeks. 

So on week 1 he read a few pages from that lesson and chose 1-2 activities at the end of the level 1 to complete.

The next week he would read level 2 and complete 1-2 of the suggested activities. 

I loved that there were choices for the activities at the end of each lesson.

Instead of just assigning one activity and telling your child to do it, there is flexibility.

It made it less of a battle if I told him to pick an activity for one of the days he worked on science.

And I chose one for the other ( to make sure he wasn’t always opting for the easy way out) , or you could assign all of them over the course of the week.

You can see here in the first lesson there were 6 to choose from at the end of the lesson from completing a crossword  to computer research.

Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

I did sit with him through most of the first couple lessons.

I could encourage him and make sure that he understood and was able to do the work independently.

Botany Topics

He chose to use his computer to look up Plant Cell Micrographs for the first activity.

Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

You can see all the topics covered over the 8 lessons here in the table of contents:

Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

And each lesson has 2 levels; the 8 topics covered are:

  1. Plant Cells and Photosynthesis
  2. Plant Classifications
  3. Non-vascular Plants
  4. The Vascular System
  5. Leaves and Trees
  6. Plant Reproduction
  7. Plant Adaptation
  8. Plant Diseases

There are consumable pages in the back that make up the additional activities like lapbook.

And a board game to put together and play.

The hard copy has simple and colorful illustrations for each topic and gorgeous vintage botanical prints to look at for reference.

Botany Course

Additionally, there are pictures of botanists like Carl Linnaeus.

He was the first define the system that created the basic biological taxonomy, identifying, classifying, and naming organisms which we still use today.

Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

The variety of activities makes it a multisensory curriculum and I love that for pretty much any of the learning styles.

Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

The author recommends that younger students or those with a limited interest in science just complete the level 1 activities.

Moreover, older children or those who wish to dive deeper into botany should complete both levels.

The activities in both sections are great additions to your learning time though.

Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

Finally,  the bibliography gives you some books including the ISBN to check out from the library or add to your own shelves.

Here are two of my personal favorites that we used to add to the unit.

First, add Botanicum.

This is an oversized book with gorgeous vintage looking prints of everything from wildflowers, to mushrooms to trees and more.

The series is geared towards younger than middle school, but I think this series is a fantastic picture reference book for older kids as well.

Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

Next, there is Nature Anatomy.

This is a favorite reference of ours that we use for any kind of nature science study.

There are a lot of illustrations and snippets of information on trees, leaves, flowers, mushrooms and ferns.

Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

The only other thing I added to the study was a digital microscope to look at specimens we gather as well as some prepared plant slides.

We also used the app inaturalist which was fantastic for photographing and helping to identify plants in our yard via flowers, bark, and leaves.

Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

More Botany Resources

Lewis and Clark Free Botany 1 and 2 Minibooks

Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

How to Purchase Botany in 8 Lesson

►Product Name: Botany in 8 Lessons
► Two Ways to purchase 1) Amazon in paperback 2) in Digital Downlaod
►Website: Ellen Mchenry Basement Workshop
►Grade Level: 4 to 8
Note: This could be used for a high school if you add in more activities
►Type of product: These is a physical product or digital product.

Homeschool High School Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4 of 10 Days

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

Today is Day 4 homeschool high school graduation menu and party venue ideas for the updated 10 days series for planning a homeschool graduation. Also, look at more ideas on my how to homeschool high school page.

As I learned, choosing a menu goes hand in hand with choosing a venue.

We knew we were wanting to host a graduation with a sit down dinner and not just serve light refreshments.

Homeschool High School Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4 of 10 Days

I feel there are a handful of occasions that come around in life that deserve more attention than normal; graduating high school is one of them.

We chose to serve a dinner for our guests. Keeping it small keeps it affordable too.

At first, Mr. Senior 2013 decided he wanted Italian food. We love Italian food.

However, I feel when serving to a larger crowd and because not everybody has the same taste palate, a more diverse menu was in order.

10 Days of Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation: Menu and Venue (Day 4). As I learned, choosing a menu goes hand in hand with choosing a venue. We knew we were wanting to host a graduation with a sit down dinner and not just serve light refreshments. I feel there are a handful of occasions that come around in life that deserve more attention than normal; graduating high school is one of them. We chose to serve a dinner for our guests. CLICK here to learn how we celebrated!

Making Homeschool Lifetime Memories NOW

He agreed and in the end we kept to our southern roots and added in something special, like the prime rib.

Here is our menu for the night

  • chicken friend chicken with smothered cream gravy
  • prime rib
  • garlic mashed potatoes
  • southern style green beans (no half cooked crispy green beans)
  • salad/trimmings
  • homemade bread sticks

Having hosted many parties where I both prepared the food and brought it, I didn’t want to do that this time.

I wanted to enjoy the out of town guests and family instead of running around serving/preparing food.

Look at these tips I learned when ordering the food through a catering service that saved us some money.

  • Choose a time of the week when it’s not as busy. Saturday is more like a peak time, so having our party on Friday, it was a better price break.
  • I chose entrees and sides separately instead of paying by the plate. In other words think like you are picking up the food with 40 servings instead of telling them they are catering.
  • By serving the food ourselves, we didn’t have the extra charge for set up, serving and tips for servers.
  • For us, the venue was right down the road, so the caterer only charged an extra $25.00 for delivery. If the place is further away, having somebody responsible with a huge van works too. For me, having the chef deliver the food worked out better since he had rolling carts and brought his hired help.
    • Cake and Food - Homeschool Graduation @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

At this time, I ordered the cake too. Being the guy that he is, Mr. Senior 2013 only had a few things he wanted.

One thing was he didn’t want it to look like a wedding cake or “too girly”.

I think if you have a daughter, she will probably have a lot to say on this.

Homeschool High School Graduation – Party Time!

I think it’s hard for cakes to look anything other than plain pretty.

I ended up having it made and chose an ombre (graduated color) blue design.

Keeping the table simple with candles, flowers and a white cake stand, kept it pretty, simple, and elegant.

Homeschool Venue @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool PlusWelcoming Lobby Homeschool Graduation @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
homeschool graduation location @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool PlusKitchen matters Homeschool Graduation @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

As far as the venue, we have a lot of places around us to choose from.

I have lived in places where you only have a handful of places that are nice. But, if you have a choice, look for these things.

  • Is there a fee for set up or cleaning?
  • Do you have to clean? Can you pay for somebody to clean it afterwards? We got the place clean and so all we had to do was pitch in at the end and clean up. Our homeschool kids are use to doing this because of how many field trips we have had hosted.
  • We ended up going with a community center that has a nice kitchen so I could keep the food warm when it was delivered. There was plenty of parking and it was easy to find so I didn’t have to send out instructions with the invitations. The lobby was warm and inviting.

But, I think the best tips of all are the money savings tips because why not take advantage of them. Who wants to pay full price when we can get a deal?

Remembering that some managers gave me a discount for places we have rented for our homeschool co-ops during the week, my hubby asked them for renting the place on FRIDAY and not a peak time like Saturday night.

They were delighted because hardly anybody rents a room or building on a Friday.

We cut our cost significantly, about 40% by renting it on Friday.

Our homeschool friends are pretty flexible and as long as they knew ahead of time, they can arrange their schedules.

Choosing to do some of the serving and cleaning ourselves, the party was fast becoming a part diy party.

But that is not the only diy thing we did. You know homeschoolers become true do it yourself people the longer we homeschool. It’s true.

Next post, I will share some more things we did to prepare for the decorations and yep, it included getting the Mr. to help us out too.

If you missed the other posts in this series, you can catch up below:

Homeschool High School Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4 of 10 Days

    More Homeschool High School Graduation Planning Resources

    10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation: Day 1 Start the Planning

    Day 2 Senior Portraits/Cap & Gown. 10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation

    Day 3 Homeschool Graduation Invitations Which Words Matter Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus thum Day 3 Homeschool Graduation Invitations–Which Words Matter. 10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation

    Free Fun Daniel Boone Quotes for Beginning Cursive Copywork

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

    I have some fun Daniel Boone quotes copywork today. And grab my unit study on my page Daniel Boone – North American Explorer.

    We love expanding our Daniel Boone Unit study.

    Adding in copywork is a fun way to add writing to the study.

    So, I rounded up some famous Daniel Boone quotes and created these free copywork printables.

    Free Fun Daniel Boone Quotes for Beginning Cursive Copywork

    Although we have followed a unit study approach, I’ve learned copywork which is a technique used by Charlotte Mason homeschoolers worked for my kids.

    Copywork is one of the best ways to practice handwriting.

    Daniel Boone Quotes

    First, look at these quotes by Daniel Boone which are on the free printables.

    • I’ve opened the way for others to make fortunes, but a fortune for myself was not what I was after.
    • Lightning does not often strike twice in the same place.
    • I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.
    • Nature was here a series of wonders, and a fund of delight.
    • All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse, and a good wife.
    • I was happy in the midst of dangers and inconveniences.
    • It isn’t how you die. It’s what you live for.

    Also, I have some fun resources to go with this study of Daniel Boone.

    10 Resources for A Daniel Boone Unit Study

    Whether you want to add a hands-on unit study or are looking for a few resources, you'll love one of these.

    1. Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer

    Struggle against the Shawnee defenders of Kentucky. Drawing from popular narrative, public record, documentation from Boone's own hand, and recollection gathered by 19th-century antiquarians, the author employs the methods of the new social history to produce a portrait that defines Daniel Boone and the times he helped shape.

    2. Who Was Daniel Boone? (Who Was?)

    Called the "Great Pathfinder", Daniel Boone is most famous for opening up the West to settlers through Kentucky. A symbol of America's pioneering spirit Boone was a skilled outdoorsman and an avid reader although he never attended school. Sydelle Kramer skillfully recounts Boone's many adventures such as the day he rescued his own daughter from kidnappers.

    3. The Dangerous Book for Boys

    The bestselling book—more than 1.5 million copies sold—for every boy from eight to eighty, covering essential boyhood skills such as building tree houses, learning how to fish, finding true north, and even answering the age old question of what the big deal with girls is—now a Prime Original Series created by Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Greg Mottola (Superbad).

    In this digital age, there is still a place for knots, skimming stones and stories of incredible courage. This book recaptures Sunday afternoons, stimulates curiosity, and makes for great father-son activities. The brothers Conn and Hal have put together a wonderful collection of all things that make being young or young at heart fun—building go-carts and electromagnets, identifying insects and spiders, and flying the world's best paper airplanes.

    4. Willy Whitefeather's Outdoor Survival Handbook for Kids

    From treating a bee sting to building an overnight shelter, kids will gain the knowledge and confidence they need to survive outdoors.All ages

    5. Daniel Boone: Frontiersman (Heroes of History)

    Written for readers age 10 and up -- enjoyed by adults!In search of open spaces and land to call his own, Daniel Boone fearlessly led a band of brave settlers into the bountiful Kentucky wilderness. Daniel's expert hunting ability, incredible outdoor survival skills, and courage under fire helped his companions stay alive in a dangerous and unknown land despite threatening encounters with soldiers, Indians, and even other settlers.

    6. History Pockets: Explorers of North America, Grades 4-6+

    The book includes the following pockets:

    • Introduction to Explorers of North America
    • Christopher Columbus
    • John Cabot
    • Hernando Cortes
    • Jacques Cartier
    • Sir Francis Drake
    • Henry Hudson
    • Daniel Boone
    • James Cook
    • Lewis and Clark
    • John Wesley Powell

    7. Daniel Boone: Trailblazer

    Born in Pennsylvania in 1734, Daniel Boone cut a path west, carving his name into trees. Although he endured repeated property losses, he became a household name and was greatly admired for his surveying skills and the many claims he laid, opening the west for further settlement.

    8. Survive & Thrive: A Pocket Guide To Wilderness Safety Skills, Plus 16 Quick-Check Skill Cards

    Gear up for outdoor adventure, learn to stay alive, and help yourself thrive – feeling confident that you can handle whatever comes your way!

    Accidents happen and nature can be unpredictable, which is why this ultra-portable survival kit is a must-have for casual nature explorers and slightly more adventurous campers in need of essential outdoor guidance that they can carry along with them.

    9. Bear Grylls The Complete Adventures Collection 12 Books Set

    Titles In This Set:The Blizzard ChallengeThe Desert ChallengeThe Jungle ChallengeThe Sea ChallengeThe River ChallengeThe Earthquake ChallengeThe Volcano ChallengeThe Safari ChallengeThe Cave ChallengeThe Mountain ChallengeThe Arctic ChallengeThe Sailing Challenge

    10. Daniel Boone: Young Hunter and Tracker (Childhood of Famous Americans)

    A general account of the life of the prominent American frontiersman who is especially remembered for helping to settle Kentucky

    Next, look at some tips about the benefits of copywork.

    What is Copywork

    Copywork has been around a long time. One of the first things we have our kids do is to trace letters.

    When kids can’t write we use trace boards or have them form letters with playdough.

    Tracing is the beginning of copywork.

    However, when you’re teaching any age writer, copywork has many benefits.

    Plus, copywork is a process where many skills are being learned at once.

    There is a lot of bang for your buck which is hard to get from other language arts activities.

    It’s hard to beat the value of this skill.

    6 Benefits of Copywork

    Look at 6 benefits of copywork.

    1.
    When a child sees the correct way to form sentences, he is learning by doing and following a model.

    2.
    Spelling is strengthened because a child is absorbing the correct way to spell from the start.

    3.
    Grammar skills are learned because a child sees the correct way a sentence is form with the details of like a capital and a period at the end of a sentence.

    4.
    Additionally, when a child has less to focus on, they can focus on neatness and legibility.

    5.
    It teaches a child to pay attention to the details or letters in every word and have legible cursive.

    6.
    Many sentences are not required to set a good model for both how a well written sentence or paragraph looks and sounds.

    Finally, when a child composes his own sentences, he has a mental picture of how well-written and composed sentences both look like and sound like.

    I have more copywork lessons here. Look at these free copywork printables.

    Free Fun Daniel Boone Quotes for Beginning Cursive Copywork

    Next, look at these Daniel Boone resources below.

    More Daniel Boone Facts for Kids Activities

    Free Fun Daniel Boone Quotes for Beginning Cursive Copywork

    How to Get the Free Daniel Boone Quotes

    Finally, how to grab the free lesson planning pages. It’s a subscriber freebie.

    That means when you sign up to follow me, you get access my subscribers library and this freebie.

    However, not all of my freebies are in the library (wink).

    I like to keep up to date with what is valuable to you so I can give you more, some freebies you must sign up again on the form below even if you are already a follower.

    It’s the only way I have of freely delivering them to you. Just follow the steps below.

    ► 1) Sign up on my list.
    ► 2) Go to your inbox and confirm your email from the automatic reply I sent you.
    ►3) Last, look for my reply AFTER you confirm your email.

    How To Homeschool Middle School – Why Eclectic Of Course!

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

    Whether you’re utterly excited or fear that you’re woefully inadequate to homeschool middle school, one thing is for sure. Homeschooling middle school can be some of the best years to homeschool. Look for more tip on my how to homeschool page.

    From homeschooling a 6th grader who is still so full of eagerness to a 8th grader who is ready to debate on a moment’s notice, there are no dull moments in the middle school years.

    Besides watching the unfolding of a young child into a teen, it’s also the time your child is still flexible.

    How To Homeschool Middle School - Why Eclectic Of Course!

    It’s the perfect time to try an out of the box approach.

    First, let me back up a minute. When I approached the middle school years I had thought it was my time to have it easy as the teacher.

    Knowing that kids are more independent at this age, I wanted relief in the way of a boxed curriculum.

    3 VALUABLE TIPS WHEN TEACHING HOMESCHOOL MIDDLE SCHOOL

    However, as each son entered the middle school years, I learned several valuable lessons,

    • one was that the eclectic homeschool style approach was needed now more than ever before;
    • that I shouldn’t have listened to naysayers who said we needed to give up hands-on learning like games or lapbooks;
    • and I should have dabbled more into life skills and high school credits.

    From teaching Mr. Senior 2013, I learned that subjects like the three Rs are the mainstay of these grades too.

    Subjects don’t change significantly in middle school, but the approach to how you choose curriculum does.

    For example, just because you used one math program with your child up to this point doesn’t mean it is the right one for middle school.

    You need to take more time choosing curriculum and subjects.

    Here is a very valuable piece of seasoned advice.

    Up until middle school, you should choose curriculum based on your teaching style because you are wearing the teacher hat exclusively. Now, you need to choose curriculum based on your child’s learning style.

    Beginning in about sixth grade you want to gently turn over the teaching reins to your child.

    I can’t recall an exact moment with each of my sons where I could unequivocally pinpoint a time and say, “This is the exact moment my sons were independent.”

    Middle school independence is a gradual process.

    This is the time to explore alternative options.

    Don’t wait until high school for out of the box elective where you don’t have as much flexibility to change courses in midstream.

    HOMESCHOOL MIDDLE SCHOOL SUBJECTS GUIDE

    Look at these subjects and options for curriculum that worked for us or that we currently like.

    Homeschool Middle School Reading

    Kids in the middle school are at varying maturing abilities.

    Unlike the early grades where you focused on phonics, at about the fourth grade a child should be ready to move away from direct phonic instruction.

    Don’t worry if your child is not, I just want you to have a rule of thumb. I had two that were ready to move away and one not so ready.

    Look here at How to Transition a Child From Reading to Literature.

    I focused on about 3 or 4 books with direct reading instruction. This means we delved deeply into them.

    On their own, my sons read way more from my list, but about 4 books was all I could do each year where I questioned them significantly.

    Remember there is a difference between a child narrating back a story and learning the elements of fiction and figures of speech.

    Understanding where I was headed in the middle school grades helped me to see what teach in reading.

    For example, in high school your child will be focusing on certain authors and literature in specific time periods.

    In middle school, focus on learning genres and the basics of elements of fiction. This tool he will use as lens to pull up close and examine literature in high school.

    Look at what you want to zero in on and use the free pages which explains a bit about each one and other literary elements.

    • Plot
    • Setting
    • Character
    • Theme
    • Style
    • Point of View

    The point I’m making is although it’s important for them to read at this age, it’s equally important to delve deeply into a book and expose kids to a variety of genres.

    How To Homeschool Middle School - Why Eclectic Of Course! Whether you're utterly excited or fear that you're woefully inadequate to homeschool middle school, one thing is for sure. Homeschooling middle school can be some of the best years to homeschool. Click here to read these tips!

    Homeschool Middle School Writing

    If you chose to teach cursive writing like I did, then you’ll want your child to practice daily.

    Writing journals, hands-down has been the best tool I’ve used to encourage writing. The focus is on writing creatively and free from a judgmental eye.

    Most of the time my sons chose to share their daily sentences or paragraphs with me, but I didn’t ask or didn’t grade them, only praise them.

    Composition is quite a different thing. For example, although we may brainstorm one day and not do much handwriting on our current topic, writing in their journal each day ensured continued practice.

    Again, the best way is to mix and match curriculum to suit your child’s strengths and weaknesses.

    Resources prepared and used by other homeschool teacher moms is another secret at this age.

    If I’m going to start handing over the teaching reins to my child, I needed resources by homeschool families who understood my need.

    We loved using WriteShop because it’s written specifically with homeschoolers in mind. But also we loved Essentials in Writing and Institute for Excellence in Writing.

    Not only did it have lots of teaching background notes for me, but it was the first top notch writing curriculum my first middle school son used on his own.

    Homeschool Middle School Arithmetic

    Don’t get discouraged if your middle school kid is behind in math. I had one like this and two ahead at their grade level.

    For the one son behind, I added in straightforward practice.

    Although math apps can be helpful for drills, my struggling math guy needed to write and see the work.

    The Key to . . . Math Series have been some of the best no fluff straight forward practice books I’ve ever used. They’re such timeless helps.

    The books are a set of consumable non-overwhelming books on one math topic, like fractions, which progress from the easiest concept in Book 1 to the hardest concept in the last book.

    Some packets have 10 books others are smaller.

    Middle school was the year I switched from Teaching Textbooks, which I thought was ahead of Math U See, and back again to Math U See. Teaching textbooks was not ahead in my experience from K to 12th grade math.

    Although Teaching Textbooks explained step by step, mastery is my goal and Math U See taught mastery. I guess the main difference is that Math U See does not go by grade level but by concept. That is my preferred way of teaching.

    Choose what is best for your child at each grade. I didn’t use MUS or Teaching Textbooks at the lower grades.

    Also, remember to add in fun hands-on math to teaching. Kids this age can still be cuddly and cute. (ha, ok.)

    Look at Making Math Count for Middleschool When You’re Not the Math Mom and 25 Creative and Tasty Edible Math Activities that Keeps Learning Fun.

    And then living math is one of the best ways to incorporate it into every day learning.

    Kids want a reason for why they have to learn math. Don’t make it boring and humdrum.

    Grab an idea from this living math book below from another talented homeschool mom which makes teaching middle school a cinch.

    And one of the BEST parts of homeschooling middle school is the time to explore and even get credit in middle school. Yes electives are something fun and doable at this age, so explore them.

    Middle school is also the time to narrow down what your middle school kids may want to jump into deeper in high school. The only way to do that is to do a wide range of fun and practical skills.

    Give them time to explore while making it practical. For example, teach your child how to write out a check.

    Yes, my young adult kids still need to use a check once and a while and remembering how to do it can be a struggle.

    It’s easier to use a debit card, but that’s not always great for record keeping. How to change a tire and check a vehicle’s oil are important skills to teach them as they approach driving age.

    We also love to explore different types of art. We love doing chalk art.

    Art for All Ages Bundle

    We’ve used another resource by a homeschool mom which is Chalk Pastel because of the variety of books and teaching helps she has on her site.

    Even cooking has been added as part of our science and history.

    It gives us a set of life skills from A to Z. Now is the time to learn this stuff before your kids tell you they know everything.

    I wanted to give you this quick glance at the middle school years. Soon, I’ll be adding more specific posts to help you.

    What are you wrestling with right now in middle school?

    Other How to Homeschool Middle School Resources

    How To Homeschool Middle School - Why Eclectic Of Course!

    Hugs and love ya,

    How To Homeschool Middle School - Why Eclectic Of Course! Whether you're utterly excited or fear that you're woefully inadequate to homeschool middle school, one thing is for sure. Homeschooling middle school can be some of the best years to homeschool. Click here to read these tips!