Blair Lee: Earth Is Warming Up (Elementary Workshop) June 2020 – Freebie Download
We Should All Be Feminist Discussion Questions
Discussion questions by Blair Lee from the SEA Homeschoolers Teen Book Club for the book We Should All Be Feminist.
The Grapes of Wrath Discussion Questions
From the SEA Homeschoolers Teen Book Club, discussion questions by Blair Lee to accompany a literary classic.
How to Write a Lab Report Guide
Lab reports should be easy to write. They are one of the most formulaic of all writing required for high school and college students. An yet… most college students are awful at writing them! Blair Lee has graded enough of these to know. This simple guide for middle and high school students give the basic structure for writing them.
When Should You Change Curriculum Hello Blair, I am constantly tweaking what we are doing and what materials we are using to try to make my kids’ education the best it can be for their personal and academic needs, but at what point should I stop tweaking, realize something isn't working, and look for a replacement resource? Like, is there a checklist of things you'd suggest before ditching a curriculum? Like, do A, B, C and evaluate for X, Y, and Z, then if it's still not working, you look for something new? Or do you just keep tweaking a …
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Record Keeping for Homeschoolers Blair, We've been homeschooling since 3rd grade and I feel confident about our academics, structure, and routine, but I live in a state with no real oversight, so I have never really kept records of what we do. My kiddo is already talking about what colleges they want to apply to, and I know I will likely need to keep records, work samples, course descriptions, and transcripts for high school. We also have never done any type of assessments or testing, not by me and not by an outside source. I want to start these types …
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Life on a Melting Planet “Earth is warming!” “Glaciers are melting!” “The level of the ocean is rising!” We have all read these headlines, and yet, what do they mean for us? It was a hot summer, but how hot is too hot? Few people live where there are glaciers, so how many glaciers can there be? Even for those of us who live near the ocean, what’s a few centimeters? Won’t that be like a really high tide? I am being facetious with these questions, but even for someone who understands the science of climate change as well as …
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How Do You Know When to Keep Homeschooling? Blair, How do you know when to keep homeschooling and when to look for other educational options? Our homeschooling is going mostly ok. She whines sometimes when she would rather watch YouTube than do math, but just typical 8yo behavior and she usually has fun once we get started. She is ahead in some subjects and a little behind the norm in reading, again typical 8yo stuff. But, homeschooling is exhausting! All the planning, searching for materials that are truly secular and a good fit for my child, implementing academics in an …
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10 Teaching Tips for Homeschooling Elementary School For more information focused on learning theory and cognitive science, check out Blair’s article, Homeschooling Elementary School. Tip #1: Work with learners at their level: To meet the needs of the individual, you should meet them where they are. For example, I have a grandson in 2nd grade and a granddaughter, his cousin, in 3rd grade. Math comes easily for him, but not for her. You can check out how I work with him here. When I work with her, instruction is focused less on the step-by-step process and more on direct problem …
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Homeschooling Elementary School Homeschooling elementary school is a perfect educational setting for developing a personal philosophy based on the intellectual life you want for your children. I encourage you, as your child's primary educator, to take the time to reflect on what you hope for your child's "intellectual life.” The Wonder Years Over the years, I taught and tutored students in grades 1st through college. There are high points in teaching every grade, but it is the elementary students I miss the most. It is just so fulfilling and fun to work with this age group as they discover the …
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How to Talk to Your Child about Not Being on Grade Level with Peers Blair, How do I talk to my child about them not being on grade level with their peers? My child would be in 3rd grade if they went to b&m school. We work at their pace and level. At times we have been a bit more relaxed while working through neuropsych evals and more structured when we’ve been able to. They are very bright, but not working at a 3rd grade level in most subjects. They recently started saying they think they are not smart because …
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What criteria should I use for picking a reading curriculum? Blair, How do I pick a reading curriculum? I am overwhelmed by the options! I’ve asked in online groups and get the same 8 or 9 responses over and over again. What criteria do I use to pick one? From Eric Homeschooling: 7 months Kids ages 5 and 6 Hello Eric, Choosing a reading curriculum can indeed be overwhelming. There are so many options! It is made more challenging, because which one is right (or wrong) for your learner depends on how they learn and process information. It can be hard …
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Ages and Stages for Teaching ScienceFrom Blair Lee, M.S. In her book, Your Child’s Growing Mind: A Guide to Learning and Brain Development from Birth to Adolescence, Jane M. Healy states that understanding a child's brain and the way it develops is the key to understanding how they learn. While Healy does not specifically discuss the ages and stages for teaching science, she does discuss the current scientific theory on nervous system development and relates that to the ages and stages of learning for young people. Each child is different. They access and process information differently, and they learn using …
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Flowers Have Differences There are over 300,000 different kinds of flowers! Different species of flowers have differences. They all also have some similarities. This comparative anatomy lab will provide insights into the structural similarities, differences, and adaptations of various cut flowers. It will allow students to explore the diverse strategies that flowers have developed to survive and reproduce in different environments. From: 9 Fun Science Activities. Click here to find links to the other 8 activities! Materials for Flowers Have Differences Different types of fresh cut flowers (e.g., roses, sunflowers, lilies, daisies) Scalpel or sharp knife Magnifying glasses or microscope …
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Are Transpiration Rates Different for Different Species of Flowers Plants take water up through their roots and, in the case of cut flowers, stems. Transpiration is the process where much of this water is released into the atmosphere through small pores called stomata. Transpiration has several important functions for plants, it drives a plants circulation delivering dissolved minerals from the plant’s roots to the rest of the plant. It is also important for cooling the plant and for maintaining water pressure throughout the plant, so it doesn’t wilt. In this lab, students measure and compare the transpiration rates of different …
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