Carnival of Homeschooling: Game Day Edition

One of my fondest memories of our homeschooling days is the time we spent playing games together. Some days we would have game day and cover every subject by playing games. Here are some of our favorites. Some are still available, others are no longer being published. Join me in my journey down memory lane.

SomeBody was one of our favorite games. It's a fun and educational human anatomy game by Aristoplay. I purchased this game when it first came out, at least 15 years ago. My children loved playing the games . It was a popular choice when their friends came over.

Homeschooling Basics - Back to school time

Well, we have to start with the basics: planning, scheduling and getting ready. Homeschooling families set their own schedules and can choose when to begin and end their school year. What schedule do you keep? When do you begin? As you prepare for your homeschooling year, be sure to plan some game days. Fridays worked well for us.

It's August and time for Lara DeHaven's family to resume school. In her post at Texas Homesteader, she shares how she was Inspired and Ready for School by reading books by Karen Andreola.

Leah presents Getting Started Homeschooling Post 1- The Big Picture (or why I homeschool) posted at The Courtney Six. This is the first in a series of posts she is writing to help some folks who are getting started homeschooling for the first time this year.

In The Best Kind of Homeschool Support, ChristineMM of The Thinking Mother discusses finding homeschool support and encouragement through friendships with other homeschooling mothers.

Autumn Beck presents Where are all the homeschoolers?? posted at Homeschooling In Kerrville. She says, "Since we’ve moved to Kerrville (in Feb.) everyone – EVERYONE – tells us there are “tons” of homeschoolers here. But where are they?"

Dave Roller just reread the Socialization Trap by Rick Boyer again this Summer. In In Which I Say a Bad Word. posted at Home School Dad, he gives his take on when people ask "But what about socialization?"

Unity of Home & School? posted by Ruby of Freehold2 is an exploration of the poem "Unity," which is often distributed by teachers who want to encourage parents' participation in their children's education. While it seems a lovely sentiment on the surface, it is written from the perspective of a school administrator and seems to somehow diminish the role of parents. Education is a global process, and an integral part of raising a child. Thus, it is truly the domain of the parent.

Debbie presents First Day of School 2009-10 and Some Views of our Schoolroom posted at Debbies Digest. Debbie shares about their first day of school this year, a list of the curriculum they're using, and follows with nice pictures of their classroom.

Busily wrapping up final plans and looking forward to a very exciting school year, Lynn presents Back to Homeschool! posted at Eclectic Education - Homeschool Blogger.

In Break from Academics, Janine of Why Homeschool writes about the changes in homeschooling during the summer. Sometimes, you have to take a break from the books and get back to the basics.

Now that we're ready for the school year, let's get busy...busy playing, that is!

Math Games:

Our favorite math games were Math Mouse Games, Giant Dice and the Allowance Game. Math Mouse Games and Giant Dice could be played with different levels at the same time, but they are no longer available. In The Allowance Game, players develop an interest in earning, saving, and making purchases, but they must choose, as in real life, whether to spend or save their money.

In Math Sentences with M Christine Guest of Our Curious Home remembers how math phobic students would relax when showed how the grammar of a sentence in an word problem related to a math sentence. Maybe this technique can help your math student.

Rebecca shares instructions to make a Times Table Mini-Book over at Little Homeschool on the Prairie. It's a fun little book to make and writing the multiplication facts in the book is a good exercise in itself.

Kris encourages problem solving in Setting the Bar posted at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She says her kids often ask simple things that they could figure out, such as, "How long until we do {fill in the blank}?" They never like her answer: "Well, we're doing {fill in the blank} on Friday and today is Wednesday. How long is that?" Good for you Kris...make them think.

The Frugal Homeschooling Mom provides Great Deals from Direct Sales Reps, a listing of several people who sell things like Tupperware, Avon, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, who offer special deals to her readers only. If you mention her blog, they’ll extend a special offer to you.

Language Arts: Spelling Games:

Our favorite spelling games were Boggle, Upwords and Spelling Bee. Boggle was always an old standby. Upwords took a little more thought, but the kids loved it. Scrabble Jr. was also a favorite.

In Maureen of Spell Outloud shows how to create Under the Sea flashcards, a custom memory card game for toddlers.

Katie Glennon presents Combining Notebooking and Lapbooking posted at Katie's Homeschool Cottage. As an Eclectic Charlotte Mason homeschooler, Katie is combining notebooking pages and lapbooking for written narration and notebooking.

In An interview with the Lamberts of Five in a Row posted at Tami's Thoughts and Views, Tami Fox had the opportunity to ask the Lamberts some questions, so you can get to know them better.

So much of today's parenting advice doesn't apply to homeschooling parents. Teresa Dear presents Eat, Sleep and Read posted at higher education.

Have you ever had your child ask you a question about a school subject, and uttered the words, "Well, that sounds familiar. I think I used to know that?" As a homeschooling mom of four, with one in particularly inquisitive child, Stephanie of Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood finds herself in that position frequently. She says, "I think that is why the little book I Used to Know That appeals to me so."

History Games:

My oldest daughter fell in love with all things Egyptian. We really loved Senet and play it now with her children. Senet is a fun game of chance and strategy from the time of ancient Egypt. Another favorite was Made for Trade which gives your kids a chance to experience a barter economy and life in an American colonial village.

Can you live a totally “FREE” life? Apparently you can. Silicon Valley Blogger presents True Frugal Living: Homesteading In The Wilderness posted at The Digerati Life. This is the story of her relatives in New Zealand who homeschool their kids because they live in the wilderness. Don't miss the video.

Sarah Small presents American History: Year 2 posted at SmallWorld, detailing their second year in American History, with an extensive list of resources.

Caren of The Prudent Pantry accidentally discovered a fun activity this week. On a nature walk, her son found a large feather from a wild turkey. The next day they were visiting a historical museum and got the idea of making a Feather Quill Pen and using the feather as a writing instrument. She also shows how to make a A Frugal Desk for Back to School

Fine Arts Games:

We enjoyed an art masters game, but I can't remember the name. We also played The Game of Great Composers, another Aristoplay game. It was fun. We learned a bit.

In An Enchanted Walk posted at Home Spun Juggling, Cristina shares her daughter's artwork and her thoughts about how she learned to do this. What an amazing picture! Her attention to detail is fantastic.

Julie Moses presents Delaware Days posted at Kids Art Projects and Lessons at Ms. Julie's Place. She includes step by step instructions of how to draw George Washington from Leutze's painting Washington Crosses the Delaware and a coloring page.

Rebecca provides many crafty ideas for boys in Handicrafts for Boys posted at Little Homeschool on the Prairie.

In Homeschool Music Appreciation, Mark of Every Good Path provides a review of a simple course for music appreciation, history, and understanding with a single book and several online videos. Not a dry music theory course, but a worldview-based understanding of music's importance. Great for high school homeschoolers.

Time for a break!

Whew! That was a lot of reading. Now, for the sweetest post by Barbara Frank. In A Great Way to Spend a Summer Afternoon, she shares a tip from Home Grown Kids author Dorothy Moore leads to a summer afternoon habit... It sounds good to me!

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling. I hope you enjoyed it and will make time in your day to play games and make memories with your children. What are your favorite educational games?

If you enjoyed this week's Carnival of Homeschooling, spread the word! Next week, the carnival will be held at HomeschoolBuzz.com. Join the fun, submit your post.