Singapore Math is a program that you might learn about from friends or online blogs. As you start your research on it, you may be surprised to find out that there are multiple Singapore Math programs! Let’s take a quick look at the similarities and differences between the programs and learn what they're all about.
Summertime at Rainbow Resource Center means it’s time for our annual writing contest! Students from ages 7 to 18 (by January 1, 2025) who wish to participate will write and illustrate an original story involving time travel. Two or more winners in each age group are selected by a team of Rainbow Resource judges and will win cash prizes. One of these winners is selected as the Grand Prize Winner and will be published and sold on our website! Keep reading to learn more about the official rules and how to participate.
“The fourteen-toed sloth crossed the Mississippi River in a neon orange battle tank. Just so he could taste the wild palm trees of Nebraska.” While this may seem like comical nonsense, Mad Libs® educate children, and let’s be honest, adults, too! This silly way to introduce grammar practice into errand running, down time, or scheduled grammar time is a game changer for students.
Our language skills progress as we grow, mature, and learn. Squiggles turn to letters, to words, to sentences, and before we know it, we are writing essays, papers, and reports! The written word allows us to express our ideas, understandings, and findings to others. As this skill develops for your young students, a new skill needs to emerge in your personal teacher toolbox: the ability to evaluate, assess, and grade our students’ writing. So, where do you start?
Evaluating essays can pose large challenges for parents. For multiple reasons, we can become discouraged and challenged with responding effectively to student writing. What should be “good” for student and parent instead becomes “the bad and the ugly.” Don’t wave the white flag! Evaluating your student’s writing and encouraging them in this process is important, doable, and can provide wonderful results.
In my previous artilcle, we considered the benefits—both practical and experiential—that cooking together as a family offers. Let’s take this a step further and consider how we, as parents, can breathe life into our history and science lessons using the power of food!
Cooking together promotes family relationships, self-confidence, and healthy eating habits. Not to mention the practical application of mathematics, vocabulary development, and social skills. I might also add that it is fun! In this two-part series, let’s look at mom and child-friendly ways to incorporate cooking into the homeschool day.
Learning to read isn’t about speed. It’s slow and challenging work, particularly at first, when the goal is learning how to read. Novice readers will read slowly, and it’s important that we remind them and ourselves that the end goal (fluency) is worth the hard work. Skills take time!
Election year gives you a special opportunity to teach your student the process America goes through to pick a president and other elected officials. There are many ways to help students learn about state, local, and federal election processes, understand the power of their voice and the vote, and become engaged participants in our nation’s constitutional republic. Discover how to incorporate the topic of elections into your school year!
Teaching our children to read is one of the most rewarding things we will do as homeschool parents. And it is an accomplishment we should celebrate with our children. But as phonics are mastered and we shift our focus to the other English language arts skills like spelling and grammar, I want to encourage you to take time to help children find joy and purpose in reading. The helpful acronym "LEADER" highlights 6 key benefits of reading for children!
