What comes to mind when you think of the water? Perhaps you automatically dive below and imagine all of the fish and other sea creatures. Maybe you see boats and ships floating on top of the water. You might even imagine relaxing on the beach!
The In the Water collection explores all of these things as well as much of the history surrounding all things water related. And speaking of history, this collection’s unit study focuses on the masters of the sea themselves, the mighty Vikings!
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Table of Contents
In the Water Collection
In the Water Collection
Bonus Articles, Podcasts, and More
Explore In the Water Collection
Editor’s Note
Listen to What You’re Hearing
In the midst of a conversation, because my thoughts are already jumping ahead to the next topics or points to discuss, I often find myself missing what the other person is communicating. This has been an Achilles heel for me for as long as I can remember.
It all started when the kids were little, five of them under the age of seven.
I often felt overwhelmed with the constant demand to be the perfect mother, looking for ways to stay ahead or stay on top of the mayhem.
Faith
A Guide to Journaling
A Living Record
When my kids were little ones, a friend called to ask if I was interested in a small wooden table with four chairs. I jumped at the opportunity. Picking up this old but sturdy table, I began imagining all that I could do. I sanded it until it was smooth, cleaned it well, and then decided to paint it a gentle cream color with matching chairs. Finally, I set it up in the kitchen. This treasure became the place we did school during the formative preschool and elementary years.
After a few weeks, I felt something was missing and decided to stencil a Scripture verse around the edges of the table.
Parenting
How Kids Hear Differently
Celebrating Beautiful Differences
Your son says “What?” or doesn’t seem to notice Mom is talking at all. Your daughter thinks her dad is yelling at her when he speaks in a normal voice.
What is going on here? Any parent of two or more children of opposite genders can tell you that there are differences in boys and girls.
But did you know that there are biological differences in how boys and girls hear, and that these differences can have a significant impact on their education?
Featured Homeschooling Article
Meet the Reticular Activating System (RAS)
Exploring How We Process the Data All Around Us
Each day, we process through millions of bits of data. Some of this data comes from what we smell. Think about walking into your home where you have a pot roast in the crockpot; the aroma is a point of data. You receive more data when you eat, tasting your food. Here it’s processing the smell as the food nears your mouth then the taste as you enjoy each bite.
This data isn’t always pleasant, however.
Think about driving past a skunk that has been hit by a car. The smell will eventually hit your vehicle ventilation causing a negative reaction.
Teaching
Influencing Your Student’s RAS
Using Knowledge for Successful Teaching
Even a basic understanding of how the RAS impacts your student’s learning can help you approach each homeschool day with better awareness, enabling you to adjust your teaching methods and style to tap into their RAS. By generating sensations that activate attention, your student will be able to process and retain the information you are sharing.
Self Care
Influencing Your Own RAS
Using Knowledge to Grow in Health
The reticular activating system reaches far outside the wall of childhood education. RAS is developing filters each and every day, and the influence it has on us affects our emotional, physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. Knowing how to influence your students’ RAS will help you educate them, but understanding how to influence your own can change your entire life.
Planning & Organizing
Communicating Expectations
Equipping Everyone to Stay on the Same Page
My children joke that my planners are my brain. And they’re not wrong! They know as well as I do that if either of my planners is blank for a week, I’m off. I’m not well prepared or well managed. That’s just the nature of my personality.
Not everyone is like that.
In the Kitchen
Creating a Cookbook for Your Kids
Sharing Recipes, Memories, and More
One of my favorite things about learning to cook was being able to make our family recipes by myself.
Eventually, I had my favorites memorized, and today I can make Aunt Pam’s homemade pizza crust without referring to a recipe card. Since my kids haven’t made it quite as many times as I have, they still need the written recipe with a list of all of the ingredients and measurements.
Ask A Homeschool Mom
What strategies have you found to help you stay connected with your kids?
Rebecca Farris, Mom of 5
20 Years of Homeschooling
With a home-based business, we had plenty of time to connect during long car drives as we traveled for business…
Ann Hibbard, Mom of 3
15 Years of Homeschooling
When my kids were little, I’d have a weekly, 30-minute fun time with each of them. We were also intentional about…
Stephenie McBride, Mom of 2
18 Years of Homeschooling
I have two children about four years apart in age. When they were little, I used to alternate taking one with me when I ran…
Teisha Priest, Mom of 4
13 Years of Homeschooling
We’re all at least a bit introverted, so connecting looks different for us than it might for other families. My work…
Nature Study
In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.
– Alice Walker
How Animals Communicate
Using All the Senses
Have you ever thought about the fact that animals need to communicate with each other, too?
Types of Animal Communication
Comparison by Senses
Did you know that different animals use different senses to communicate with each other? Here are some examples!
Living Education
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. – Theodore Roosevelt
The Pony Express
Communicating from Coast to Coast
Imagine that it’s 1855 and you live east of the Mississippi River, but you have a very important message you need to send to your brother who moved to California during the 1849 Gold Rush. You have a couple of options. You can put your letter on a boat heading out to California. It will leave the East Coast, sail all the way around the southern tip of South America, then head back up the West Coast, hopefully arriving in California in about a month.
Alexander Graham Bell & the Telephone
The Very First Phone Call
“Mr. Watson—come here—I want to see you.”
These simple words set on course a change in our lifestyle that is still evolving today. This phrase was spoken by Alexander Graham Bell to his assistant, Thomas Watson, transmitted by wire to an adjoining room. Alexander Graham Bell is best known for inventing the first working telephone in 1876.
Evolution of the Cell Phone
From 1973 to Today
Alexander Graham Bell would likely be amazed to see where his invention has taken us today. According to Bank My Cell,1 4.78 billion people around the world have a cell phone, with 3.5 billion of those being smart phones. That number is staggering, considering that there are still many people alive today who remember the very first cell phone that was invented!
Recommended Resources
Digging Deeper into the Fun of Communication!
Would you and your students like to learn more about communication and the other topics in this collection? Dive into our list of recommended books, movies, and games for more exploration and fun!
Hands On Learning
For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them. – Aristotle
Pony Express Activities
Facts & Crafts
How much do you know about the Pony Express? Test your knowledge with these facts then dive into some Pony Express Activities!
Build a Model of the Ear
Fun with Play Dough
Building a model is a fantastic, hands-on way for kids to learn about an object. You can build your own model of the ear using play dough.
Make a Simple Telephone
Using Sound Waves
Did you know that you can create your own version of a telephone with just a few household items?
Exploring Sound
Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent. – Victor Hugo
Communicating Through Music
Teaching, Accentuating, and More
When we think of communication, the first thing that usually comes to mind is actual words.
Recording Music
From Phonograph to Digital
It’s hard to imagine a world where we couldn’t listen to music whenever we like. Prior to the invention of the phonograph, though, the only way to listen to music was to hear it live and in person.
Instruments Around the World
Instrument Matching Fun
Music is a language that can be appreciated by everyone. Even if you don’t know the spoken language of a particular culture, you can still enjoy the beauty, structure, and sounds of their music.
How the Ear Works
Outer, Middle, and Inner Ear Facts
Have you ever wondered how you process the sounds around you? Whether it’s voices talking, music playing, or even some loud and startling noise, somehow the signal moves from outside your head into your brain in a way that helps you make sense of the sound.
Hearing Loss Facts
People, Treatments, and More
Sometimes people lose their sense of hearing over time due to age, illness, or too much exposure to loud sounds. They may have trouble hearing certain frequencies, trouble hearing if there’s background noise, or lose their ability to hear altogether.
Digital Communications
History Timeline
ARPANET
1969
ARPANET
TCP/IP
1970s
TCP/IP
1973
Bulletin Board Systems
1980s
Bulletin Board Systems
It’s hard to imagine life without the internet, e-mail, or even text messaging. But, the technology behind these common, everyday resources is pretty recent! Here is a timeline of the drastic progress in computer-based communications over the past half century.
Editor’s Note
Hearing Your Children
Three Key Elements
As we wrap up this issue on communication, I can’t help but consider the ways my own children have developed communication skills over the years.
Vikings
Unit Study Download
It’s hard not to think of Vikings when we think of ships on the sea! Are you ready to dive into learning more about the Vikings? In this five-day unit study download, you and your student will explore the history of the Vikings, what their ships were like — and so much more!