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by: Kara Noel Lawson

Fun CC Cycle 3 Presentation Ideas

We are just under half-way through with our 4th year in Classical Conversations. We still love it, but prepping for presentations making this Mama cray-cray. Every week we are throwing something together the day before… who am I kidding? We are usually grabbing some toy from around the house and or googling something on the way to CC in the morning. I’m a list maker (why does checking things of a list bring me pure bliss!?!), and I work really well with goals… so I made a list of some Fun CC Cycle 3 Presentation Ideas!
Maybe I’ll stick with it, maybe I won’t.
But at least I won’t be scrambling to think up some idea the morning of CC. Eeek!

Fun Cycle 3 Presentation Ideas

Click here to print out the PDF of the Fun CC Cycle 3 Presentation Ideas.

Fun Cycle 3 Presentation Ideas

by: Kara Noel Lawson

Mission San Juan Capistrano Homeschool Family Days {FREE printable too!}

Choosing to homeschool means saying yes to all sorts of fun things (like making adobe bricks). But it also means we’ve had to say no to a lot of the traditional activities happening in public schools – like studying the California Missions in 4th grade. Learning about the California Missions is a huge rite of passage around here. The apex of the mission study is crafting your own mini Mission. It’s the grand finale of the whole unit! I still remember mine – I made a replica of Mission San Juan Capistrano’s Serra Chapel alter.
It was glorious.
Really.
Mine was glitteriffic, but the real thing is truly breathtaking.
See… serra chapel alter

Just because we homeschool doesn’t mean to have to completely kiss the 4th grade Mission project goodbye. We just get to do it a different way. We tried one of the monthly Homeschool Family Days and loved every second of it.

4th grade tour at the mission

You may notice we have an extra kiddo in the mix. We had the opportunity to host an amazing foreign exchange student from Japan when our tour was scheduled. Although she is 16 she got to experience the 4th Grade Mission tradition as well.
Spoiler Alert: She loved it!

homeschool family days

We learned about life on the mission, the history of the area, and the indigenous people.
Most of all, history came alive for my kiddos… and me too!

monks supper leaning about monks

There really is nothing like walking around the mission, it’s like stepping back in time.

walking the mission san juan

It would be difficult for me to pick a favorite part of the tour but ruins of The Great Stone Church were pretty amazing. It was the biggest stone structure west of the Mississippi till a large earthquake destroyed the building in 1812.
It’s beautiful!the great stone church

I made this fun printable with the most famous quote from Mission San Juan Capistrano’s founding father Saint Junipero Serra. Feel free to pin or print and use as a cover for your own Mission reports.

juniper serra quote printable        juniper serra quote printable juniper serra quote printable

Homeschool Family Days at Mission San Juan Capistrano

  • Every 3rd Wednesday of the month
  • Includes child admission, guided tour, audio tour, panning for gold, adobe brick making, koi fish food
  • Mission Clubhouse ID card and Mission Passport.
  • Must book 1 week in advance with a minimum of 8 attendees.
  • Call Group Bookings at (949) 234-1306 to reserve a spot.

Family Memberships

Mission San Juan Capistrano has great family membership programs. A family of 4: $60.00 ($5 each additional member). For our family it’s only $70 for the year and if we go three times that’s just $3.80 a person per visit. A steal!

Also, how have I lived in Orange County for 36 years (4th generation) and not know about Christmas at the Mission. We will be going this year for sure. Details here.

leaving the mission

by: Kara Noel Lawson

How to Make Adobe Bricks {Just like the ones at the Mission!}

This year we are studying medieval history (with Story of the World), and we have been able to incorporate a lot of the rich California history in our area. During an awesome tour of Mission San Juan Capistrano (more on that coming soon!) we learned how to make adobe bricks.

This hands-on project was fun, and created a great transition from our study of ancient history last year to the spread of christianity and medieval history this year. (SotW, Vol 2 Ch 3)

how to make an adobe brick

How to Make Adobe Bricks

Supplies:

  • Small disposable box or old ice tray
  • Large bowl
  • Dirt (enough to fill the box or ice tray)
  • Water
  • Straw, hand full
  • Poop (optional… hahahaha)

What to do:

  1. Mix dirt and water in a large bowl with your hands.
  2. Add the poop… but please wear gloves.
  3. Add a hand full of straw to the mixture and mix some more!
  4. Pour into the box or ice tray.
  5. Leave in the sun for a few days.
  6. Tear off the cardboard box or pop out the the ice cube tray.

If you do a few batches in the ice cube tray you can build your own mission with adobe bricks you made!

How to make an adobe brick just like the ones made by the indigenous people in Southern California…

Here is the adobe brick reveal…

Discover more about the indigenous people in Southern California at Mission San Juan Capistrano with this awesome basket weaving class on October 5th. If you aren’t able to attend this class, don’t worry, is held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month. And it’s free with paid admission to the Mission.

And for my fellow homeschoolers, check out the Mission’s homeschool days!

mission san juan capistrano

by: Kara Noel Lawson

Hands-on BFG Activities for Chapters 3-6 – Have some FUN!

If you are just discovering our hands-on BFG activities, you might want to go back and read why I started this book study (along with the activities for Chapters 1 & 2), or just pick up on the fun with this post. There really is no wrong way to do our book study.
The most important thing is to have fun and let the world of Roald Dahl captivate your kids, just like he has captivated the whole generation before them.

hands-on activities for The BFG

Hands-on BFG Activities for chapters 3-6:

Chapter 3: The Snatch
(Materials – kids & the great outdoors.)

  1. The BFG can run FAST! Have a race to see if you can run as fast as the BFG.
    (I love getting my kids outside AND helping them make connections between our books and the real world. I’ve heard my kids playing independently and having BFG races. They will never forget that the BFG runs fast now!)

running fast like the BFG

Chapter 4: The Cave Sculpture (kids can sculpt while you read aloud)
(Materials – play-dough & toothpick.)

  1. Create the BFG’s mountain home with play-dough. Carve a cave with the toothpick and roll a stone out of a smaller piece of dough for the BFG’s front door.

I let them sculpt while we read and they each came up with something different…making the BFG's home out of dough

Eli grabbed a small glass jar to mold his mountain. Sometimes I think my older kids won’t be into the activities… but they just find ways to be more clever in the execution.
And I like it!

making a BFG cave mold

Long after reading The BFG, Cyrus can be found creating the BFG’s Mountain and cave with his kinetic sand! Hands-on BFG activities help my kids retain their knowledge of the book.

BFG's cave out of kinetic sand

Chapter 5-6: The BFG and The Giants Activity
(Materials – geography copy work printable with compass rose, globe or map.)

  1. Show children places on the globe or map. (You might want to stop here with smaller children.)
  2. Print the geography copy work activity. (This is great to turn into charter schools for geography. Learning about the compass rose, and directions are all part of common core! )
  3. Have children trace the places.
  4. Color and fill in the compass rose. (Older children can draw their own compass rose with this printable.)
  5. Draw a picture in the blank space of a globe or map.

Who knew Wellington was in New Zealand or Labrador was part of Canada?
Not me.
Till we did this activity.
(Side Note: I was so confused by the earth Cora Jane drew. I asked her about it and she said it was Africa. What!?!? We’ve been studying Africa all year long… this looks nothing like Africa! I’m an ashamed homeschool mom!! Then she said she accidentally had the paper upside-down and drew it that way! Hahahahaha! If you turn it upside-down it’s pretty spot on… Madagascar and all! Whew, I didn’t fail at homeschool!)

The BFG Geography activity

by: Kara Noel Lawson

Mr. Nobody – Plus a {FREE} Chocolate Chip Cookie Printable

Thanks for following along with all our hands-on activities for First Language Lessons Level 1! I hope you had as much fun as we did, and your kids are displaying their art with pride. Our very last enrichment activity is for the poem “Mr. Nobody.” (And I have a Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Printable at the end of this post!) It’s a LONG poem, and I’m so proud of my kids for memorizing the whole thing.

I have to be honest… I didn’t think they would be able to memorize “Mr. Nobody.” When we started FLL, I flipped through the book and saw the lengthily poem and thought, “Yeah right! This language is old-fashioned the whole thing is outdated!” And did I mention it’s looooooong?

But the FLL method works. It works well. Our kids are capable of so much more than we think! The big kids memorized the whole thing within a week and Cy only needs prompting on one section… I’ve even heard Tess rattling off stanzas while playing.

You can watch Cora Jane recite the whole poem below, and I announce our final First Language Lessons activity in this video too!

Lesson 81: Mr. Nobody activity
(materials – kids, cookie recipe, time.)

  1. Tell your kids to pick up all the things Mr. Nobody left out in your house!
  2. Bake cookies. Because doing homeschool means we are the fun moms!

Check out all the activities in the series below… I promise the rest are educational.
(Not that cleaning and baking aren’t their own kind of educational…)

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1 Hands-On Activities:

If you want to make the most perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER, here is the recipe:

Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Printable

How cute would this be printed and framed in your kitchen? Or as a gift to a friend?
(Along with a batch of cookies, of course!)
If you like this printable, you will LOVE the rest of Kindyl’s work in her shop.
Click here for the 8.5 x 11 size Chocolate Chip Cookie printable.
Click here for 2 5×7 Chocolate Chip Cookie printables on one sheet.
Keep in mind we never do anything small in the Lawson House. This is a big batch of cookies, perfect for big families! They come out “just right” every time!

best chocolate chip cookies ever

by: Kara Noel Lawson

The Months – Painting and Dots with First Language Lessons

We have been having more fun with our First Language Lessons enrichment activities!!!
I hope you have too!
Today is a fun (not too messy) paining project for “The Months” poem. Your kids will have a blast dotting their papers for each of of the different number of days in a month. This poem is introduced in lesson 43, but I would do this activity around lesson 50… before lesson 57 when you do the cumulative poem review.

the months paint and dots

Lesson 43: The Months activity

(materials – printable on white paper, pencil, one piece colored construction paper, 3-5 Q-tips, 3-5 colors of tempura paint, glue stick.)

Younger children

  1. Print The Months copy work printable on white paper.
  2. Trace the poem.
  3. Dip the Q-tips into the paint and make 31 dots in one color, 30 dots in another color, and 29 dots in a third color.

Older children

  1. Print The Months copy work printable on white paper.
  2. Write one word of the poem in each day box on the calendar. (Note: Poetry lines won’t line up properly with the poem.)
  3. Dip the Q-tips into the paint and make 31 dots in one color, 30 dots in another color, and 29 dots in a third color.

IMG_4324

The Months activity

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1 Hands-On Activities:

by: Kara Noel Lawson

Days of the Week Activity – Hand-on First Language Lessons

We are loving our First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Activity series.
I hope you are too!
This is a fun days of the week activity flip-book to help reinforce your child’s poem memorization. “Days of the Week” is introduced in lesson 35, but this activity would be a great activity to do with your children on the day you do lesson 38 (proper nouns for the days of the week).

days of the week activity

Lesson 35: Days of the Week activity

(materials – page 1 & 2 printables on white paper, pencil, scissors, one piece colored construction paper, stapler, crayons.)

  1. Print page 1 & 2 Days of the Week copy work printable on white paper.
  2. Have children trace the poem.
  3. Cut along the dotted lines.
  4. Cut the piece of construction paper in half lengthwise, then fold in half to create a flip book cover.
  5. Stack the white flip book paper inside the cover and staple together at the top.
  6. Decorate the cover of the book with the title.

days of the week poem

Print page one of the flip-book here.

days of the week poem

Print page two of the flip-book here.days of the week poem
First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1 Hands-On Activities:

days of the week activity

by: Kara Noel Lawson

Sewing Heart Activity – First Language Lessons interactive activity

If you are working your way through First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1, your kids will love this sewing heart activity to help reinforce their poetry memorization.

“Hearts are like Doors” poetry memorization is introduced in lesson 27 and consider doing this activity on the day you do lesson 32 (a lighter lesson day). Hang up the the finish project (along with the “Work” activity and “The Caterpillar” activity) as a fun way to help reinforce the poem memorization and remind the children of the poems they have memorized. You can also turn this work into your Charter Schools.

sewing heart activity

Lesson 27: Sewing Heart Activity

(materials – top printable on red or pink paper, bottom printable on white cardstock, pencil, scissors, hole punch & yarn (or glue stick), crayons.)

  1. Print “Hearts Are Like Doors bottom” copy work printable on white cardstock.
  2. Print the “top” copy work printable on red or pink or paper.
  3. Have children trace the poem.
  4. Cut out the “top” heart.
  5. Hole punch across the top of the cut out heart.
  6. Use the yarn to thread the “top” heart onto the “bottom” heart.
  7. Trace your house key or create little keys with your imagination to decorate the white paper.

Hearts are like doors

Click here for the top printable on colored paper, and click here for the bottom printable on white paper.
hearts are like doors activity

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1 Hands-On Activities:

by: Kara Noel Lawson

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind – Work enrichment activity

Are you ready for the next First Language Lessons enrichment activity for First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1? (If you have no clue what I’m talking about, check out my summary of First Language Lessons here and the first enrichment activity in the book.)

enrichment activity for First language lessons

This enrichment activity goes along with the poem “Work” in Lesson 15. Do this activity around Lesson 22 to reinforce the poetry memorization. (These activities a also great to turn into your charter, if that applies to you.)

Work poem activity

Lesson 15: “Work” poem flip-up activity

Young children (materials – printable on white paper, pencil, scissors, 1 piece of light colored construction paper, glue stick, crayons.)

  1. Print “Work” copy work printable.
  2. Have children trace the letters.
  3. Cut along the dotted lines.
  4. Run a line of glue stick across the top back of the copy work paper. Center and paste onto the construction paper.
  5. Fold up the top sheet with the copy work and color a picture on the bottom layer.

Older children (materials – blank white paper, pencil, scissors, 1 piece of light colored construction paper, glue stick, crayons.)

  1. Place the piece of white paper in the landscape direction and fold into fourths. Creating 4 equal columns.
  2. Write the title of the poem at the top center of the paper and write the poet’s name underneath.
  3. Write two lines of the poem in each of the four columns.
  4. Cut along each fold from the bottom of the paper leaving about 1.5” uncut at the top.
  5. Steps 4-5 above.

gluing the flip up sheet work poem activity first language lessons in action

Download the hands-on enrichment activity for Work here.

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1 Hands-On Activities: