Elementary

Back to School Shopping–$10, $15, $20 Sale!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 3 Comments

This great sale has been extended until August 15th! Something for littles all the way through teens…and some beautiful journals for Mom School, too!

$10 Sale Journals

$15 Sale Journals

$20 Sale Journals

Please note that we request for Amazon to mark down journals to a specific price for a certain length of time but they don’t always get marked down/ stay marked down the whole time. If there’s something you really want, make sure to grab it soon!

How Do Unit Studies Work with Fun-Schooling?

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 1 Comment

Unit Studies…

  • A deep dive into a topic/interest
    • Can be based on an animal, nature topic, hobby, interest, book, place, person- anything really!
  • Combine multiple educational subjects into the same topic
    • For example, a unit study on horses might look like:
    • Math- calculating horse speed, stride, distance, stats, etc for racing horses. Managing a budget for horse feed and equipment. (lots you can do with horse math!)
    • Science- horse biology
    • Social studies- horses around the world, how horses are used in different cultures/communities, horses throughout history
    • Language Arts- read a classical book about horses, do copywork on horses, learn to spell horse-related words
  • Multiple ages can work together on the same unit study with age-appropriate materials for each subject
  • Students can also work individually on a unit study
  • Great for students who tend to get “sucked into” a subject
  • Goes well with our idea of choosing a major https://funschoolingwithsarah.com/?s=major
  • Can last as long as you’d like- a day, week, term, month, or even an entire school year!
  • An easy way to combine elements from multiple educational approaches/methods (see the comments below for links to the other educational approaches we’ve covered)
  • How do I set up a unit study?
    • Start with a Fun-Schooling journal based on what your child wants to learn about- or a blank core journal or Master Class if we don’t have a themed journal on the subject
    • We’ll talk about this more on the 21st- information below

How do you set up a Fun-Schooling Unit study? Make sure to join the main Fun-Schooling group, and then click below to watch!

Is Fun-Schooling a Full Curriculum?

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 1 Comment

(Guest post by Amanda Osenga)

Q- Is Fun-Schooling a Full Curriculum?
A- Yes and no.
Yes because you can easily cover every required subject with our materials- and all of your electives.
No because it’s not a traditional curriculum. We aren’t going to tell you what lessons to do on what days. We don’t tell you what specific books to use or how to guide your days.

We have thousands of Fun-Schooling families and everyone’s school looks different.

Some families use a journal or two to cover a specific subject. Others like to use our journals for electives. While other families Fun-School for every subject.

You’ll combine journals with books, podcasts, documentaries, etc. that correspond to your child’s academic levels. This is how you customize and build your curriculum. A huge age range of kids can use the same journal because each child will use it with different materials.

You can even use our journals alongside boxed curriculum and other more traditional materials.

Some journals, such as Spelling, Math, and Grammar, are more sequential. We’ve been sharing a subject-by-subject breakdown with one subject per month on our blog, private group, and Instagram, Facebook page if you want to check those tips and info out.

If you’d like to jump in and use this as your full curriculum, here’s a post with tips about how to do that: https://funschoolingwithsarah.com/flip-to-fun-schooling/

We also offer curriculum bundles with a suggested lesson plan and everything you need for an entire school year. Students can go up or down a few grade levels and be just fine so if your student sees a bundle that sparks their interest, go for it! https://www.funschooling.com/all-curriculum-bundles

Journals in the bundles are also available individually via Amazon and most are available on our website as PDFs https://www.funschooling.com/bookstore-all-pdfs

How to Inspire Your Children to Read

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 1 Comment

I don’t worry much about reading before age 9. The longer they play the better! When my children start asking me “Mom, how do you spell…?” That’s when I know they are ready for reading. When a child is ready to learn to read it’s so easy to help them.

When it comes to learning to read there shouldn’t be a struggle. Dyslexic children and creative kids struggle because we are trying to teach them too soon. Dyslexia Games helps prepare the mind for reading and writing without stress, and helps to teach reading in a self directed way that works for creative kids.

Still, sometimes the brain just isn’t ready for the job of reading before age 9 (for some it may be age 11, kids who learn to read late tend to be very artistic and creative.)

The 1st key to inspiring a child to read is to find out what the child wants to learn about and be attentive to what he is passionate about. Provide books on ALL levels about those topics. Look at the books together, and use books with a Fun-Schooling Journal. Allow the child to do a lot of drawing in the Fun-Schooling Journal if they can’t write, and please do some of the writing for him or her while the child watches and dictates (writing for your child once a week is enough).

The 2nd key is to model a love for reading real books and writing on real paper – in front of your child – that’s what Mom-School books are for. When a child sees a parent reading and writing (not on a computer) they automatically desire to do it too. The brain is wired to give children a drive to do what adults do. (One big problem with classrooms is that all the kids are the same age, and kids are not getting an example of how people learn at a higher level.)

Curiosity will drive the desire to read, and the brain will begin to wire itself to read, write and spell. When a child is curious about reading they are going to learn quickly and efficiently. When a child feels the need to read, they WANT to learn.

When you try to force kids to read. write and spell before they desire to do it naturally you are going to face a constant struggle. If the child desires to learn, they are going to be active in the learning, and actually teach themselves – it’s beautiful and joyful.

So, precious homeschooling mom, if your eight year old can’t read, don’t worry, just remember the two keys!

Using Fun-Schooling Books to Develop a Complete Curriculum

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

Guest Post by Gina Phillips

I would like to share with you how I am using the Fun-Schooling books by Sarah Janisse Brown to create a complete curriculum for my 5th grade (working at a 3-5th grade level) son.

I first purchased the Do-It-Yourself Curriculum Fun-Schooling with Minecraft journal. Then I just took each section and figured out what I wanted to use to cover it. My son needs a little more structure with his learning so not everything is just him choosing what he wants to use. I let him choose topics and extra books but the core is chosen by me. Then, we added in items to cover Math and Language Arts.

Here is a list of what we do:

For the Geography pages we use: The Children’s Atlas of God’s World and The Not-For-Parents Travel Book

For the Design Your Own Animal pages we use: Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

For Reading Time and Core Subject Pages, he has decided to study Chemistry and Middle Ages: Amish Pathway readers, The Story of the World Vol. 2 (we also do the color pages associated with this book), Usborne Look Inside a Castle, Fizz, Bubble & Flash, God’s Design For Chemistry and Ecology: Properties of Atoms and Molecules, Usborne Medieval World. We are also reading Robin Hood and The Knights of the Round Table.

News, Movie Time and Nature Study are not planned out I just help him find good quality things to cover these areas that we find online or outside! Some we like are the Wordup! DVD, Drive Through History and Horrible History.

For the Math Time pages we will use the Bedtime Math App. because we have a separate Math program

For the Copywork pages, I decided to use Draw-Write-Now and let him choose which book he wanted to use.

For Listening Time we are going through the Usborne Famous Composers Reference Book. (It has QR links to listen to music from the composers!)

Then for the Vocabulary pages we are using English from the Roots Up Vol. 1. We write the word root at the top of the page and I let him select from the included words which ones he wants to write down and define.

For our remaining subjects we use the following:

Math: Comic Book Math and Learn Math Fast Books

Spelling/Phonics: Explode the Code and Teach Your Child 100 Words to Read, Write,Spell and Draw

Thinking Skills: Thinking Skills from plainandnotsoplain.com

Grammar: we are reading Simply Grammar, Usborne Illustrated Grammar and Punctuation and we use the Mad Libs Game.

I hope this helps give you an idea of what we are doing in our homeschool using the Fun-Schooling books. Click here to see how this looks on a daily schedule.

Pages: 1 2

We Learn Everywhere!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

Fun-Schooling Happens EVERYWHERE!!!!

I was flipping through family photos and made a little collection of photos that show how my kids are learning without the traditional “Desk” approach… Sometimes they enjoy working at a desk or table, but the floor is also popular! Some kids love to be in the middle of everything and set up school at the coffee table in the family room. Others like to hangout on their beds to study.

Share your “Fun-School Everywhere” photos in the comments on this post in our Facebook group if you would like to!

My kids choose where they work. This freedom makes them so much more comfortable. One of the perks of Homeschooling!!!!

Inspiration and Resources for Your Co-Op!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 1 Comment

Considering trying a Fun-Schooling Co-Op? Here are some inspirational photos from our Co-Op at Olive Branch Farm:

Here is a post with some pointers on how to begin a Co-Op.

Did you know you can get sample journal pages to share? Join the main Fun-Schooling group–you’ll find them all in the Files!

Are you looking to join a Co-Op? Here is a list of Fun-Schooling Co-Ops to investigate, including the Facebook pages for each group!

Fun-Schooling + The Montessori Method

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

How Does Montessori work with Fun-Schooling?

  • Montessori is hands-on and self-directed
    • Goes along perfectly with Fun-Schooling baskets!
    • Include natural material learning toys and games in your basket – there are lots on Etsy
    • Could easily set-up different Montessori-inspired Fun-Schooling stations
    • Give kids control to choose what they want to do and when they want to do it
      • Montessori students know what needs to be accomplished in a designated amount of time and are given the freedom to complete their tasks in any order they choose
  • Montessori classrooms rotate out activities/works
    • Can rotate single-subject journals and complementary materials
    • Store them on a low shelf/table for easy access
  • Nature study, Life Skills, character development, and the arts are a big part of Montessori
    • We have journals for all of those!
    • Pair them with hands-on life experience
  • Use Montessori materials like sandpaper letters, Montessori math manipulatives, and motor skills frames/toys alongside the journals
  • Wooden puzzles!
    • Popular in Montessori and go great in a Fun-Schooling basket
  • Nomenclature cards/ 3-part cards
    • These are used to introduce new words and teach different subjects
    • Would work great along with journals, especially with vocabulary building pages
  • Fun-Schooling journals can be used by a wide range of ages and Montessori classrooms are multi-age classrooms
    • Put together a multi-age group of other homeschoolers to go through a journal together
  • Montessori teens choose an area of focus and engage in hands-on in-the-field study on that area of focus
    • Just like choosing a major!
  • Montessori values teaching independence and equipping kids with skills to thrive on their own
    • Our research method and journals are set up with this same goal in mind

Watch a flip-through of some of our Montessori-friendly journals here:

The Montessori Method

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

The Montessori Method was founded by Maria Montessori

  • An Italian educator in the late 1800s/early 1900s
  • She was the first female Italian doctor
  • Advocated for women’s rights and child labor laws
  • Studied child development and learning before opening her own school
  • She researched educational approaches and philosophies throughout the ages and studied children in-person to create her approach
  • Pulled heavily from the work of Jean-Marc Itard and Edouard Séguin

Main Focuses of a Montessori education

  • Very hands-on and sensory focused
    • The Montessori schoolroom engages all the senses
    • Activities are referred to as “works”
    • These works will engage multiple senses at a time
    • The environment itself is kept low-sensory and very tidy- everything has a place and is always put back in that place. Only one work out per child at a time. Known as a “prepared environment”
    • Lessons are incredibly tactile with things like sandpaper letters, counting beads, building blocks, and lots of manipulatives
    • Play is work- and children should not be interrupted while working or playing. A big focus is on letting them do things at their own pace with full concentration
  • Everything is adapted to be child-size and child-friendly
    • Works will be put out on low shelves, kid-size tools are made readily available and presented to the child from a young age, kid-size chairs, tables, etc.
    • In the kitchen, kids will have their own set of kid-size cooking items and a special stool to be able to stand up at the counter
    • Kids are given real glasses instead of plastic and “real” tools that are simply child size
    • Taught to work with careful consideration and attention to detail
  • Big focus on Life Skills
    • Taught from a very early age and children are encouraged to be independent from toddlerhood
    • Excellence in completion and attention to detail is a bit part of learning Life Skills
    • Self-care, cleaning, cooking, sewing, and other basic Life Skills are taught beginning in toddlerhood
    • Gardening and farm work are often a part of the daily school tasks
  • Natural materials
    • Plastic is almost never found in a Montessori setting
    • Wood, fabric, and glass are the primary materials found
  • The main core educational subjects are taught along with a big focus on art, citizenship, independence, nature, and engaging in the community

Other tidbits

  • In a school, children are grouped with a wide age range- usually 2-4 grades all together
  • Self-directed learning lets children progress at their own pace
    • Still guided by an adult with each work very carefully introduced in a methodical way
    • Children then can work through things at their own pace and based on their own interests
    • There’s not usually a strict schedule of X subject at X time
    • Instead, children will know what they are expected to accomplish in a day and be given the freedom to complete their tasks in the order they desire
  • No screens until at least 4th grade
  • Age 0-6 is a key age for introducing concepts, life skills, and development
  • Some similar components to Waldorf and Charlotte Mason but starts academic instruction at a much younger age and is much more methodical

Stay tuned for our next post where we will talk about integrating the Montessori Method into your Fun-Schooling!

Fun-Schooling Math for All Levels

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

Let’s talk Fun-Schooling Math.

First of all, we do not have a math “curriculum.” Our math journals work best as a supplement or warm-up to your chosen curriculum. Lots of families like Life of Fred, but dozens of choices exist! Some families choose to exclusively use real-life math and no curriculum at all, along with our journals. At the bottom is a suggested order for working through our math journals.

In the early years, Math looks like learning numbers and shapes, lots of counting (count anything you can with your little ones!), hands-on materials/manipulatives, and practicing writing numbers.

Young elementary school is mainly about addition and subtraction. Kids also begin work such as skip counting, patterns, place value, and measurement. There are lots of good math games for this age! Math Craft Level A can be introduced at this age. It is excellent for helping students develop early math skills regardless of if they have Dyscalculia.

Upper elementary introduces multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and percents. Continuing with games is a great idea too. Lots of families like to work on cooking as a way to teach math at this age too. Math Craft Level B is excellent for helping cement multiplication, regardless of if a child has Dyscalculia.

Middle and high schoolers focus on the math skills they will need to succeed in life. They also work on developing skills for their future careers and callings. For example, a student who desires to own a business will focus heavily on business math skills while a student who desires a career in science will need to study a wider range of math.

As adults, we can continue to develop our math skills and keep our brains fresh! Scientific study after study has shown how good it is for our brains to keep challenging ourselves with pencil-to-paper math as we age.

A suggested order of journals is as follows. Remember, this is a suggestion- your student(s) may or may not go in this order! Early-level learners may not need to complete all of these journals.

Teach Your Child to Count to Ten

Count & Color

Kitty Doodle Math

My First Fun-Schooling Math Workbook

Foundational Math Skills- 100 Numbers

Math Craft Series A

The Littlest Math Book OR Comic Book Math (they are the same inside)

Fun-Schooling Math Mysteries & Practice Problems with Minecraft

Fun-Schooling Math for Minecrafters

Math Craft Series B

Multiplication Games

Bible Games

All About Ocean Creatures

Pixel Art

Smoothie Time

Yum-Schooling

DIY- Make Your Own Book- Complicated Math Concepts

How to Make Money

All About Money

Are You a Math Genius?

We hope this helps break down Fun-Schooling Math. If you’re on our private Facebook group, be sure to tune in for a couple of videos to peek inside math journals!

All Math PDFs are deeply discounted this month at https://www.funschooling.com/bookstore-all-pdfs

What are your favorite books, documentaries, podcasts, tips, and resources for Fun-Schooling Math? Leave them and any questions you may have in the comments.

This post is contributed by Amanda Osenga.