A Creative Teaching Series

When I started teaching my kids at home, there was nothing better than watching them light up and get excited when they were learning. History was not always easy to get them excited about until I took the approach of making it come alive. One way that we did that was through dressing up for the time period or historical event we were learning about… or Costumeschooling.

Reading about history, especially through a dry textbook, is anything but engaging. “Mom, why do I have to learn about these people that lived hundreds/thousands of years ago???” is a question that sometimes is asked by children. (I know I asked that question of my teachers).

But when we make history come alive and show them the importance of understanding our past, the desire to learn increases in children. The imagination of children is amazing, so including this into history lessons by dressing up is a way to help them get excited about history.

Another way to make history come alive is through living books (you can read this article here)

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. Please see my disclosure for more details.

As homeschool parents, it is important to engage all the senses when teaching and learning. That is why I encourage costume wearing when we are learning. It creates lasting memories. And boy, is it fun!

Most kids enjoy dressing up and living in a world of make-believe, that is why integrating dress-up into homeschooling lessons is so essential and beneficial. Emotionally and physically connecting to moments in history through costumes and dress up can help children appreciate and remember those events. The best part is that it involves their imagination and intellect and you can’t go wrong there!

What is Costumeschooling?

Well, it is a word that I made up to encompass a style of homeschooling where the children dress up for whatever time period they are learning about. Kids feel like they are a part of the history they are learning about.

We even dress up in character with literature that we are reading. Think about it…What is more fun then wearing attire of Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe while we do a unit study on Anne of Green Gables??? Throw in some linament cake and raspberry cordial while you read L.M. Montgomery’s classic and you have for yourself a deep rooted memory of what you are learning. Not to mention fun family memory building time as well.

You can add to the excitement by getting other homeschoolers involved from your community. Host a dress up Civil war era party and invite others to dress up in the time period clothing. Have kids give speeches as different people in history. AND don’t forget to take lots of pictures.

Costumeschooling for History

The possibilities are endless here. You can dress up as often as you would like (or as little) based on whatever history you are learning about. You can attend museums or historical sites in costume and take lots of pictures.

Recite famous speeches in costume.

Memorizing good content has long been popular in homeschool circles. Memory work is often found during morning time (that is when my family does it). After you memorize and amazing speech such as Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” Speech,  Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”, or Elizabeth I “Tilbury Speech.” Have your child dress up in character and recite it. Invite a group of people over to witness this momentous time in history or record it on video to watch as a family. I guarantee that your child will never forget the time they gave a speech as Elizabeth I!!!

Costumeschooling for Language arts

Like I mentioned earlier, your children can dress up in character as someone from a book that you are reading. The costumes don’t have to be anything expensive. Simply google or look up on Pinterest for ideas for diy simple costumes that you are trying to create. Go to thrift stores and look for after Halloween deals on constumes.

Constumeschooling for Science

My kids dressed up as important figures in science, Marie Curie and Benjamin Franklin. Each learned important facts from their lives and then we did a short documentary style video of them being interviewed as that person. Because they were so young, it was the cutest thing ever. We laughed till our stomachs hurt as we watched them act on video and answer questions as if they were that important historical figure. Years later, we watch that video and let me tell you, they will never forget who Marie Curie or Benjamin Franklin were or what they accomplished.

Again, this is an opportunity to invite others over and allow the historical figure to present who they are to the others. You can encourage acting and getting into character if the child is comfortable. Try getting involved as a parent. Dress up as your favorite scientist and present who you are to your children

As a teacher, I often dress up as well for the co-op classes that I teach. The children love it. Add in a fun accent and make their learning come alive.

Costumeschooling in Art History

Dressing up and recreating famous art

We did this activity during a covid-19 quarantine challenge. My kids and I (and dad too) really got into this fun idea. We perused through art books and thought about the costumes and clothes that we already had and were able to recreate some pretty famous art. Now, I could have extended the learning, but my kids are young, so we really just had fun with it. In the future I plan to spend more time studying the artist before we re-create it.

Search the internet for ideas from other families.

Here are some of our recreations:

Tips for Creating an Amazing Costumeschooling Environment

Here are a few tips to add dress up to your curriculum:

List out all the major historical periods that you will be covering. If your children are older, have them work out this part with you. Talk about what was worn and start brainstorming possible costumes you can create. You can search online or go to the library for books that have LOTS of pictures.

Visit Living Museums in time period attire

Depending on where you live, there are living museums that you can attend in costume. We have a field trip planned to a colonial farm where we will make butter and do other time period activities. Since we have been learning about early American History, adding the costumeschooling component will add to the richness of this learning field trip. We will take lots of pictures and most likely turn our adventures into our own book. The book will become a fun keepsake that we will reference over and over as we enjoy it through the years.

Don’t Forget the Food!

What is better than eating time period food while dressed up in costume? This is great for both young and older children. Getting them involved in the planning and baking of the food. Allow them to be creative in the presentation of the food. I have collected inexpensive dishes along the way at yard sales and thrift stores that way I can give my children the opportunity to use them without the fear of them breaking great grandma’s wedding china…

Costumeschooling doesn’t have to be expensive

While it is fun to purchase new costumes online or go to a costume store, it isn’t necessary.

I have found some of the best costume attire at thrift stores and yard sales! It is important to have a rough sketch or list of items that you are on the lookout for. I keep a tub and a clothes rack available for all of our costumes readily available so that my children can dress up whenever they would like.

If I am looking for a particular historical era of clothing, I search for authentic pictures and then screen clip them on my phone. I reference them when I go out.

I have found that the Goodwill and Salvation Army are reasonably priced during the Halloween season, so go around that time for good deals.

Make thrift store and yard sale rounds and do some searching often. Get a babysitter or take your kiddos along for the search. Pack your cup of coffee and a snack and have fun. You can even plan a friend date and have some down time while you search for costume treasures :-). Don’t forget to be hunting for used books as well!!!

If you DO have the funding to buy or make costumes (or you want to splurge on a couple), here are my suggestions:

How Do We Store Our Costumes?

I have a smaller house, so we don’t have a ton of space to store things in the house. I keep a rolling clothes rack in the garage of all of our costumes. Some costume accessories are stored in clear plastic tubs and labeled for ease of locating.

DON’T FORGET YOUR CAMERA!!!

Take lots of pictures of your children dressing up. You will not regret it! Even taking videos of them reenacting scenes from history is a fabulous idea.

Some of my fondest memories of school (I went to public school) was when we had dress up days. I remember it like it was yesterday… We had just learned about the California Gold Rush, and my teacher planned an entire week of festivities to celebrate. We planned and organized events, food, songs, plays, and so much more. We dressed up in attire from that time period and had such a wonderful time recreating history. I think of all the reasons why I remember that week like it was yesterday. There are so many reasons but dressing up made the emotional connection for me very real and memorable.

One More Thing…

You can extend your child’s learning by creating books about the historical event or scientist that you are dressed up as. See my post about making books to extend learning.

Chat with me:

Let me know if costumeschooling is a part of your homeschooling routine? Could you add it if not?

The post Costumeschooling: What it is and Why you Need to Add it to your Homeschooling appeared first on .

Do you enjoy planning homeschool lessons around your children’s interests? I know that I do. However, sometimes it can feel overwhelming. Where do I begin with planning? What should I include in my unit study? How can I keep track of supplies, books, crafts, and websites?

I developed The Perfect Unit Study Planner to help organize and answer all of these questions.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. Please see my disclosure for more details.

The Perfect Unit Study Planning Packet Printable!

Specific directions for this planning packet can be found at the end of this post. Don’t forget to subscribe for more homeschooling tips tools.

What is a Homeschool Unit Study?

Unit studies (also known as thematic unit studies) are a popular tool for teaching around a particular subject of interest. They allow students to see what they are learning as a whole and they provide an excellent alternative to textbooks.

Why Should I add Unit Studies to my homeschooling day?

Are you looking for a way to teach multiple children at different grade levels? Do you want to encourage a love of learning and engage your child’s interests? Homeschool Unit Studies are the answer!

What Are the Benefits of a Homeschool Unit Study?

My kids and I love Unit studies! It allows us to dig deeply into subjects that we are interested in. We are able to integrate so many of our subjects into our unit study. It not only encourages a love for learning, (sometimes my kids just can’t get enough) and it actually saves time in our schedule. For example, when we centered our learning around deep sea adventure, writing, spelling, reading, science, history, and even math were integrated all together, saving us time when compared to our normal homeschooling schedule. My children are able to learn together as well.

Why I Love Homeschool Unit Studies:

Perhaps my favorite part of Homeschool Unit Studies is that it allows my children to be creative and be hands-on. I make sure that I include free time in my unit study plans so that my children can play or create around the subject we are learning about. For example, for the deep sea unit, I may give them a large cardboard box to create a deep sea submarine or provide crafting material so that my children can make the animals or deep sea exploration tools for survival. This is really a child-focused free time, let them decide what they want to create and how they want to create it.

Here is a List of Some of the Benefits of a Homeschool Unit Study:

• less expensive than traditional curriculum and more tailored to your child’s interests
• freedom for children to take their time and learn at their own pace
• learn as a family- all ages can learn through unit studies
• hands-on learning is primary- this is proven to be the best way for children to learn
• in-depth learning
• Creating lasting memories
• Opportunities to learn in a less traditional way

How Long Should a Unit Study Last?

A Homeschool Unit Study can last as long as you and your kiddos want it to last. When we covered a unit study on birds, it seemed to last for months because my kids fell in love with birds. In fact a year later and my daughter still asks for bird learning. Some unit studies can be quicker: a couple of days or a week. Plan according to your children’s abilities and interests. Also, know when you stop your unit study and don’t drag it on longer than you need to.

How often should I plan out unit studies?

This is just my opinion, however, I suggest only planning out 4-5 unit studies a year. Sometimes they will last several weeks, depending on how much depth you and your children want to go into. They can work around you and your children’s schedules. Depending on the type of educator that you are, planning a unit study that you are happy with can take a good amount of time, so start planning ahead. Complete the planning of your unit studies during a time where you are less busy.

Homeschool Unit Study Ideas

Topic Based

• Space
• Exploration
• Civil War
• Mammals
• The Ocean
• Pets
• The Civil Rights Movement
• Government
• Habitats
• Insects
• Dinosaurs
• Dragons in History
• Honeybees
• Australia
• Shark Week
• Weather
• Missionaries in China
• Microbes
• The Constitution
• Money
• Finance

Literature Based

• Anne of Green Gables
• Pedro’s Journey
• Shakespeare
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh
• Charlotte’s Web
• Little House on the Prairie
• Any C.S. Lewis Book
• The Hobbit
• The Green Ember Series

Directions: How do I use the Homeschool Unit Study Planning Packet?

Thank you for downloading the planning packet. Here are the directions for using this tool:

Step 1. Look at the topics you will be covering this year with your children. Talk with your kids about their interests and what they would love to learn about. Feel free to give them ideas and ask guiding questions.

Step 2. Decide on your topic/theme. We chose the “Deep Sea” for ours. You can go many different routes. For example, you can base your unit study on a piece of literature and then learn around that or you can choose a specific topic and check out a variety of books on that topic. For the Deep Sea, I did not use a piece of literature to guide our unit study, instead I chose a variety of books that were interesting to my kids and we learned that way. Both ways are great, so choose what you think will work better for your family.

Step 3. Go over the KWL chart with your children. Fill in the first two columns: What you know already and what you want to learn. You will fill out the final column, “What I learned” at the completion of your unit study.

Step 4. Take some preliminary notes as you prepare your research (this you will do without your children). What should you know as background knowledge as you guide your children through this study. What do you need to research further? Take learning notes on your planning page. You can also record ways to integrate all subject areas into your unit study. How can you intertwine writing, reading, spelling, phonics, history, and science? Unit studies can be a very efficient way to integrate cross-curricular study.

Step 5. Start filling in what you need to accomplish for your unit study. Do you need to purchase books or check some out at the library? Do you need to shop at the Dollar Tree or Amazon.com? Do you need to research field trips or talk with another homeschool family who is learning the same thing?

Step 6. Research good quality books that you can use. Take an inventory of those books that you will use in your unit study. Write them on the planning sheet. I suggest keeping these books in a specific place, such as a basket or space on the shelf. This allows you to find them quickly when you need them.

Step 7. Research Youtube and Pinterest for ideas. You can create a playlist on Youtube and a board on Pinterest to keep track of what you want to use. Fill out the planning form as a reminder.

Step 8. Brainstorm board games and card games that correlate with you unit of study. Record them you your planning sheet. You can even create your own. For instructions on making your own educational card game, click here.

Step 9. Research and jot down any websites that might be helpful as you study your unit. For example, we visited Nationalgeographic.com often when we studied the deep sea.

Step 10. Keep track of movies, audiobooks, dvds or online movies that are useful for your study. Are you kids going to watch “Wild Kratts” on Netflix as they study? Write that down on your planning sheet.

Step 11. CRAFTS and HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES!!! This is my favorite part. I spend a lot of time correlating what we learn to hands-on activities. I have books that

Step 12. Field trip ideas and notes. Where can you go to support the learning that has taken place? Take lots of pictures when you go

Step 13. How can you integrate yummy food and recipes? Are you learning about the Goldrush? Could you learn how to make coffee or the bread that they used to eat? You can center a meal or a tea party around your unit/theme. Don’t forget to take pictures!

Step 14. Having an idea of how many days you want your unit study to be is a good idea. But make sure that you are flexible and know when to either end it or extend it. Use the Unit study daily overview planning sheet to start taking all of the ideas you have found and record what you want to accomplish or cover each day.

Step 15. Keep track of the supplies you will need for each day and keep them in a tub or basket.

Step 16. Create Daily lesson plans. While I do not use these for each lesson I teach with my children, sometimes I like to organize my thoughts and how I want to teach, so I use the daily lesson plan template. You can use this template for any subject and for any grade. You can also use it as a guide if you teach co-ops or in a classroom setting.

Step 17. Have fun, be creative, and enjoy learning with your kids!

Other Amazing Homeschool Websites for your reference when learning about unit studies

OurJourneyWestward.com has good introductory information on Unit Studies.

Homeschool-your-boys.com has a great article on the benefits of Unit Studies as well.

Links to Free Unit Studies

Faith and Good Works is a great website that features a “Giant List Of Free Unit Studies”

It’s a Mother Thing is a website that has a “100 Free Unit Study for all ages.“

Some Paid Unit Studies

CareitPatch.com has an Apple Unit Study available for purchase on Etsy.com

Do you and your family use unit studies in your homeschooling? Do you have any suggestions for planning a homeschool unit study? I look forward to hearing from you.

The post Simple Steps to Plan the Perfect Homeschool Unit Study – Unit Study Planner appeared first on .

You Can Design a Science Curriculum Tailored to your Elementary School Age Child

Keep in mind that science in the younger years should be focused on exploration and excitement. This is an essential component of the Charlotte Mason philosophy. Children are naturally curious about the world so you need to provide abundant learning opportunities for them. A great way to do that is to have access to beautiful living science books that cover a variety of topics. Also, be willing to go outside and explore. This will allow your children to fall in love with the natural world around them!

How do I Design My Own Science Curriculum Based on My Child’s Interests?

If you are anything like me, you struggle to fit your kids into a box of pre-packaged science curriculum. I have decided to be the creator of my children’s science education. Now I know that not everyone wants to take the time to do this, but for those of you homeschool moms who are able, you first need to be open minded and flexible. You can put together a fun science curriculum that works with your child’s interests.

You can put together a FUN science curriculum that works with your child’s interests.

What Made Me Change My Mind-from textbook to Living Picture Books:

When I started homeschooling my kids, I was a firm believer in the need to use textbooks to teach science to my kids (I was coming from a career as a public School educator). It didn’t go so well, though. Trying to get my young children to sit still while I read from the science textbook was nearly impossible.

Thankfully, I had the opportunity to start teaching classes once a week at a learning center. The purpose of these classes was to provide enriching learning opportunities-not what I was used to as a public school teacher. Using my background in curriculum instruction, I designed a buffet-style class around unique and rare animals as well as mysterious places. I called it “Mysteries and Marvels in Our World.”

The class introduced newly discovered creatures, unique creatures, and mysterious places to the children. For example, we learned about the Crooked Forest in Poland, the Cone Snail, Bombardier Beetle, and so many other amazing places and animals. The kids (and me too) were in awe of what we were learning about. It quickly became super popular and I was able to teach it 3 semesters in a row and each semester it was full. I loved that class for so many reasons. One of the main reasons I loved it was because it taught me that I could teach about so many subjects and content areas using these fun creatures and interesting places. Kids learn best when they fall in love with what they are learning. Who doesn’t love the adorable Blobfish?

The Blobfish was one of the first unique animals that we learned about. I had never even heard about this animal until I did the research for the class curriculum. It quickly fascinated me. Using this creature as a “learning base” we covered habitat, density, depth, geography (where it lives using maps), food chain, art (we had to draw it :-), classification, and so much more.

So I figured I could plan out my science curriculum for my own children in that same way. And that is just what I did and you can too.

Now I organize and plan out my own children’s science curriculum (as well as history- but that is another post and I integrate other subjects that they are learning. I even enjoy occasionally creating worksheets and activities that better suit my children’s interests. I am working on a tutorial that teaches other moms how to do that and will update a link to this post once I finish it (this will be especially for my fellow creative mamas!)

What is great about this strategy is that it also saves time in my homeschooling day. I don’t have to teach each subject separately. I can integrate reading, phonics, writing and so much more with core subjects like science and history. It also works for multiple ages.

Children LOVE Animals- Especially Unique and Interesting Ones- You Can Use that as a Hook!

This is a coloring book that I put together for my kids to go with the unique creatures we were learning about.

Creative Science- Learning about unusual creatures to cover a variety of science standards as well as other content areas.

Like I mentioned earlier, rather than teaching about animal habitats and adaptations as their own separate lessons. You can use content your child will be interested in and build their learning around that. First, go over the science topics and standards you want to teach over the year or semester for your child, then choose something that your child is super interested in. For example, you can choose an animal that your kids love. Use this animal as the “learning base” and make their education connected to what they enjoy.

Here are a couple of books that I used to teach about unique and creative creatures

Planning Out Your Year

When I plan for science for the year, I choose a couple of topics. I first talk to my kids and get an idea of what they are interested in. I take that into account, but I also know that there are some topics I will choose for them and I know that once they are exposed to the new topics and we learn about them in a creative and fun way, that they will fall in love with them. I use this planner to help guide what I teach my kids and make all the subjects connect as best as I can. It also helps me to focus on why I teach the way I teach.

You can also use this book by Rebecca Rupp called “Home Learning Year by Year”. It is a fantastic resource to help you organize and plan out your years of homeschooling.

Connected and Cohesive Learning

While what I am about to cover is often more work for the parent or teacher, it is important that your child’s learning be connected and cohesive. Connected and cohesive learning is when cross-curriculum learning goes on. Allowing subjects to cross in your child’s learning such as history, science, reading, phonics, and even math. When learning is disjointed, it not only takes longer to complete your school day, your child is left with thinking that each subject is separate. This is unfortunate because in learning science, you can teach writing, phonics, grammar, history, etc.

I have created a Homeschool Unit Study Planner where you can plan your own unit studies based on your kids interest. See the post and access your Planner by clicking here.

But Shouldn’t I use a textbook?

I do not use textbooks to teach my kids science. I will leave that for Middle School and High School. However, I do purchase science textbooks to help guide me when necessary, such as a when we are learning about human anatomy. I believe it is important to use beautifully illustrated living picture books to teach science to young children, however. Either going to the local library or investing in new and used books online or at the thrift store is essential to exposing amazing content to your kids. Here is a youtube video where I explain the five ways to build your homeschool library on a budget.

Textbooks in my opinion shouldn’t be used as your primary teaching tool. They are often dull and dry and lack beautiful engaging content (not always, but usually that is the case). Quality picture books and other living books that teach science content are much more appropriate for younger children.

Here are just a couple of science picture book that I like, however you can check out a more complete list here or scroll down to see picture book lists by subject area.

I am a BIOLOGY NUT!!!! I could study biology every year with my kids. Last year I designed a biology curriculum for my kindergartner and second grader. While I used the textbook personally, how I taught each topic to my children was through living picture books. I followed a set of topics that I wanted to cover over the year, however I tried to engage my child’s interests whenever possible. And we slowed down when they came to a topic they were fascinated by.

We purchased a high powered microscope and began to learn about the microscopic world. We went on field trips that connected our learning even further. Opportunities for digging deeper into subjects will come often. For us it came when we arrived at the Kingdom Protista during our learning about the classification of living things. We purchased amoebas, paramecium, and euglena. We watched them move around under our microscope. Then we sketched them into our nature journals. Now that was memorable learning!

I created this printable for my kids to record their microscope observations. It is available on TeachersPayTeachers.com

Side note: Nature journaling can be done with the microscopic world too. Things unseen are fascinating!!!

If you are able and interested, investing in a high quality microscope is a great way to get your children interested in the microscopic world around them. I use an Amscope microscope, which is an amazing brand.

Some Microscope Essentials if you are interested:

Quality Living Picture Books are a GREAT Way to Teach Science Content to Your Child

This year we are continuing our life science learning. My kids who are now first and third will be delving into anatomy and physiology. I have a textbook for my own reference. A textbook allows me to have a better understanding of what I want to basically cover even some of the technical words we may come across. The textbook is NOT for my kids, however. The goal of my science instruction is to provide a buffet style education. I offer the content and we slow down and explore when their is a high interest. We checkout or purchase books that correlate to the topics we are covering and then do hands-on activities and labs.

We are also going to do a brief overview of Chemistry this year (my daughter asked for this because to her chemistry means experiments). I have planned it into our school year, but I may be a bit over zealous. I was able to find a basic chemistry textbook to guide me as I plan out my children’s lessons, however, we will be using living science picture books to learn the concepts as well as LOTS of hands-on learning. I will let you know how it goes

Use Real and Technical Words When you Teach or Talk About Science

It is always tempting to simplify the vocabulary from science. I admit, some words are tough. We wonder if our child can even understand them. While at first your child may look at you puzzled when you say a difficult science word. With repetition in context, your child will begin to pick these more difficult words up. I have been using the scientific technical words since the beginning.

I have a funny memory of being in the hospital after having my son and my daughter, who was two at the time pointing at the doctor and saying “stethoscope”. It left the doctor shocked and he even asked her to repeat what she had said. I just thought it was so cute to hear her cute little voice saying it.

From the beginning I used real technical words to interact with my children about our surroundings. I don’t do it so they sound smart (remember Charlotte Mason encourages a humility in learning :-). Rather, I firmly believe that they are capable of using the real words that we all use daily.

Here Are Some of My Favorite Homeschool Planning Books

Get Creative

When teaching science get creative! Make lapbooks or fun books so that your child can document their learning. Check out this list of ways to get creative with science:

• dioramas
• stories
• newspapers
• news report for TV
• lapbook
• book
• art piece
• stop motion video
• song
• making their own board game or card game
• blog

You will notice that with each of these activities you can integrate your writing standards, reading standards, art, History, and so much more. At the end you will have an amazing contribution to your child’s learning portfolio. Let your child help pick out the best way to show their learning and allow some time for creativity.

SLOW DOWN and Let Children Take Their Time

Often textbooks chunk subjects into separate time blocks: 6 weeks for plants, 6 weeks for weather, etc. This is not how children’s minds learn. They need to be given their own time to explore and dive deeper into subjects that they find interesting. The goal is to make them fall in love with learning!

Where Do I Find Activities and Labs That Go With My Science Curriculum?

I like to research activities that I think my kids will enjoy. Pinterest is a great resource for homeschool science activities. It can be overwhelming however. Check out my Pinterest Board.

I am currently putting my Mysteries and Marvels Curriculum together so that I can share it with the world- well at least for those who love animals:-). Once that is ready I will post it.

Great Websites With More Fun and Creative Science Ideas

Creative Educator This site is full of fun ideas that you can integrate into your science teaching.

Home Science Tools is a fantastic resource for science activities. They are all about hands-on learning.

Check out these tips to build your homeschooling library on a budget:

How do you teach your children Science?

Have you found a curriculum that fits your kids? Have you found a textbook that your kids enjoy or that is useful to you as the educator?

Do you design your own science curriculum? What tips can you offer a homeschooling mom to help with teaching science to her children?

“This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. Please see my disclosure for more details.”

The post Homeschool Science Curriculum- How do I Teach Elementary Science at Home and Make it Fun? appeared first on .

“This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. Please see my disclosure for more details.”

Which Subject Are You Working On?

Each child made their own book when we were learning about art history. The book took the whole semester to complete, but we slowly added pages to it and at the end we had a beautifully illustrated art history book that the children could reference back to. It is also such an amazing keepsake. Rather than a bunch of art projects strewn about the house, keeping them organized in this book project is quite nice.

“A child needs to feel ownership of their learning. By creating something special, such as a book, a child can truly own and love what they have learned.”

Make your Child the Star of their Own Learning Book

Children love it when their pictures are featured in their books too. Adding in a funny picture of your child to a informational books about sharks creates a humorous learning connection. This is such a fun keepsake as well. Your child will continue to refer back to their homemade books and have fond memories of their learning time.

Creating Books is Creative!

When you are teaching your child, it is important that you encourage creativity in your child. Creating is so essential to learning. Check out my article on simple ways to encourage creativity in your child. While sometimes we feel overwhelmed with what our homeschooling plans are, making time for creativity needs to be a priority.

Some Book Making Tips

1. Keep your phone handy for quick pictures.
2. DON’T be a perfectionist, let your child do the drawings, come up with picture ideas, write the words, etc. I can remember my daughter having some of the best ideas and being so thrilled with her finished product. (If there is a lot of writing, you can help your child out by completing parts of the writing so they don’t feel overwhelmed, depending on your child’s age).
3. Look for learning opportunities as you go. If your child is learning their letters, insert some lined writing paper and let them write all the “Ff’s”. If your child is working on Idioms, make your book about idioms, if your child is working on punctuation, choose a book that is filled with Punctuation
4. Buy an economical printer and have cheap photo paper available. I use the Epson ET-2720 Ecotank printer. I can print hundreds, maybe even thousands of high quality pictures on a single ink bottle. It’s a total money saver!!
5. Use other books that your kids enjoy as an example of how to create one. We used, “No David” by David Shannon to learn to read and write some basic sight words and punctuation. My kids had a blast reenacting the pictures of David from the book
6. Other book recommendations: “This is how we do it” by Matt Lamothe

What book do you plan to make with your child? How will you integrate what they are learning?

Share your ideas, can’t wait to hear them!!!

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