Homeschool Freebies – June 15, 2010

Photo Credit: The Ramblings of a Crazy Woman

• Free Worksheets
• Ocean Worksheets from Learning Page
• The Island-below-the-Star Unit Study
• How to Raise Tadpoles
• Frog Lapbook
• Another Frog Lapbook
• God’s Amazing Sea Creatures Unit Study
• Nature Study at the Beach
• Handprint Crabs Craft (scroll down)
• National Geographic Sea Animals Coloring Book

Book Recommendations:

1. The Island-below-the-Star by James Rumford
2. Frogs by Nic Bishop
3. The Frogs and Toads of North America
4. Frogs Toads and Turtles by Diane Burns
5. Days with Frogs and Toad by Arnold Lobel

Homeschool Freebies – May 18, 2010

• Preserve Backyard Flowers
• Holly Bloom’s Garden Unit Study
• Dandelion Lapbook and Unit Study
• Wildflower Crown
• Edible Flower Recipes
• Time of Wonder Lapbook
• WhatBird.com
• Cornell’s Bird Coloring Book
• Create Your Own Field Guide
• Recycled Bird Feeder Craft

Book Recommendations:

1. Holly Bloom’s Garden by Sarah Ashman
2. Backyard Birds (Peterson Field Guide for Young Naturalists)
3. Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey
4. Dandelion by Don Freeman
5. National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Wildflowers

Homeschool Freebies – May 4, 2010

• Luna Moth Life Cycle – video
• Luna Moth Coloring Page
• Stellaluna Lapbook
• Journey to the Bottomless Pit Unit Study
• How to Build a Bat House Plans
• Adventures of Echo the Bat
• Scratch Paper Art
• Lunar Landing – Moon Craft
• Skymaps Downloads
• Glow in the Dark Constellations

Book Recommendations:

1. Stellaluna by Janelle Cannon
2. A Luna Moth’s Life by John Himmelman
3. Journey to the Bottomless Pit by Elizabeth Mitchell
4. Insect World – Luna Moths by Sandra Markle
5. How to Draw Insects by Justin Lee

Homeschool Freebies – May 11, 2010

• Worms are Fun! Recycling with Worms
• Online Field Guides
• Earth Day Mini Lapbook Helper
• The Trellis and the Seed Lapbook
• The Tale of Three Trees Lapbook
• Botany Unit Study
• Earth Day Word Search
• Nature Words
• Reed Basket Craft
• Handprint Butterflies

Homeschool Freebies – April 27, 2010

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar Unit Study
• The Very Tasty Caterpillar
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar Lapbook
• Nature Study Notebook – Journaling Pages
• Butterfly Lapbook
• “B” is for Bee Craft
• Butterfly Lapbook II
• The Monarch Butterfly – Amazing Migration – video
• Butterfly Project Ideas
• Monarch Butterfly Clipart

Book Recommendations:

1. From Caterpillar to Butterfly by  Deborah Heiligman
2. Monarch and Milkweed by Helen Frost
3. Arty Facts – Insects, Bugs, and Art Activities by Polly Goodman
4. Origami Insects and Their Kin by Robert J. Lang
5. Garden Insects of North America by Whitney Cranshaw

Homeschool Freebies – April 20, 2010

• Guide to Sketching Trees by Claire Walker Leslie
• Tree Shape Book
• Leaf Prints
• Leaf Flashcards
• Tree Study and Lapbook
• Miss Twiggley’s Tree Unit Study
• Chipmunk’s Unit and Lapbook
• How to Draw a Chipmunk
• Seasonal Tree Study
• Spring Tree Study

Book Recomendations:

1. Miss Twiggley’s Tree by Dorothea Warren Fox
2. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees
3. Drawing Trees by William Powell
4. Keeping a Nature Journal by Claire Walker Leslie
5. The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock

Homeschool Freebies – April 13, 2010

• The Parable of the Lily Lapbook
• Palm Leaf Cross Craft
• Rice Krispie Earth Day Recipe
• Earth Day Word Search
• Sight Words Matching Folder Game #1
• E is for Earl the Earthworm
• Harmony Fine Arts and Music Appreciation
• 3-D Paper Craft Birds
• Happy Earth Day
• Signs of Spring Journal

Here a little, There a Little—Getting Projects Done

Many of us have all of those projects lying around the house and tucked away in boxes. These are projects we would love to get to “if”… “if” I had this or that, “if” I knew this or that…or “if” I just had the time. How many times have we said that? The reality is that we already do have the time; we just have to know how to use it rightly to finish our projects.

Having many projects on the to-do list or half-started, it is easy to get overwhelmed or even give up. I used to think of all my many projects that needed to be finished. I ended up spending way too much time trying to plan how to get them all done, instead of working through each one. Each item on the list was also too vague, not accounting for some key parts involved in getting each task done. We need to get more specific, only choosing a few projects to work on at one time. It is also necessary to order the tasks on our list so that working on them becomes practical, like the top, bottom, and quilting steps to making a quilt. If we spend all our time on the whole picture we’ll get overwhelmed. Being more specific about the order of each step will help us to begin to work towards completion on our projects.

The search for the elusive time. So, we have our smaller, more specific projects in mind that we want to finish, but cannot find “The Time” for it. That always seems to be a problem, doesn’t it? I search for this time everywhere and can’t find it: those glorious huge chunks of time that we long for to finish this or that, but the “if only”s do not get us any closer to that pile of fabric in the corner. The first step that GOD has been teaching me is to not wait for those few continuous hours to appear, but to schedule an hour a day (or a few times a week) as a time specifically set aside for crafts.

A review of your daily routine may reveal that there is something that is already taking up too much time. These may be areas of your day that you probably want to cut down anyways, like computer or TV time. Replace some of that time with the crafts that you want to do. Instead of simply trying to cut down on unconstructive activities, focus on spending that time doing something else that is more constructive. It is good to have a scheduled time in your routine, instead of waiting for that miracle craft moment to appear.

It is best to take advantage of what time you do have.

To use the time that you are given for the day, especially in regards to squeezing in craft time, requires a change in perspective. The majority of people think that no significant progress can be achieved in a short amount of time. We tend to assume that, in order to get anything done, we need at least an hour or so of uninterrupted time. However, even the smallest increments add up over time. Anyone who has ever accidentally left the bathtub plugged with a slowly leaking faucet has seen first hand what amazing results can come from slow, consistent action.

It is impressive how fast those single drops fill up the bathtub. It is the same when we devote small increments of time to a given task. Scripturally this point of view is described in Zechariah 4.9-10: “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that YHVH of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven…”

Now that we have covered our project focus, schedule, and perspective; let us discuss how to recognize time and use it. This is another step that GOD has been teaching me. There are many instances during our day where we end up waiting around for ten minutes or so. What are we currently doing during that time? Usually nothing. Think of the times when your hands are idle, and brainstorm how you can keep your hands busy with your craft projects.

Consider what the virtuous woman does with her hands (Proverbs 31): they are occupied in her work, in helping the poor and needy, and in producing good fruit. Keeping my hands busy with good things also helps me to think things over and pray, even for ten minutes, if that’s all I have. For example, I take my crochet work with me when I need to take the bus. I also take something portable with me to work on while I’m stuck in the laundry room for an hour. Since I have to stay in the laundry room anyway, it is like an extra hour for craft time. Recognizing small increments of time as opportunities for working rather than a waste of effort will help us to find all the available time which can be used for completing our projects.

The last thing involved in clearing out our projects corners is being consistent. Stick to your shorter, detailed project list in your small opportunities of time. Working on a few projects at a time will help you keep focused, and as you see your progress you will be encouraged and motivated to get it done.

Be consistent with your routine craft time, as well as taking advantage of small increments of idle time that come up. Be sure to change up your projects when you are ready to move on to the next few—that way you won’t get tired of doing the same thing over and over again. Lastly, reward yourself! Do a quicker, fun project when the “big bad forever project” gets done. A single drop, small beginnings, and short increments of time turn into a full bathtub, a finished Temple, and a finished project with GOD’s wisdom.

To rightly use our time to finish our projects, we need to look at our schedule. Then, using scheduled and unexpected small pieces of time consistently, with a change in perspective, will help turn our small beginnings into a finished masterpiece. “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” Isaiah 28.10.

Homemaker’s Notebook

Over at the Homestead Revival, you will find this nifty Cloth Napkin Tutorial.

Homeschool Freebies – April 6, 2010

• N is for Nest
• Snail Lapbook and Unit Study
• Rainbow Lapbook
• Birds of Paradise Unit Study
• Bird Orders Chart
• Birds Notebooking Pages
• How to Make Magnetic Pom Poms
• Jello Jigglers Recipe
• Sketch Tuesday
• Colors Activity Box

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