January 2016 - Loving Learning Freely

5 Tips for Healthy Tech Habits in Your Family

Your family needs to know how to use technology in a healthy and productive way. Read 5 tips for encouraging healthy tech habits in your family.

I am “that mom” You know, the one who wouldn’t feed her kids junk food when they were little. I’m a firm believer that if you’re going to put something in your body, it should be worth it. It should be full of nutrients that will sustain you and help you grow. I did this in hopes that when my girls grew up, they would make good food choices (because they certainly aren’t going to be eating only at my table forever). I was also diligent about teaching them to make good reading choices when they were young. As a … [Read on, my friend]

Chinese New Year Online Unit Study

心想事成 Xīn xiǎng shì chéng May all your wishes come true (including your wish for a perfect unit study to learn about Chinese New Year) My Chinese New Year gift to you, my homeschoolin’ momma friend, is our Chinese New Year Online Unit Study. This Internet-based tech-driven e-Learning course is perfect for homeschoolers. Check out this video to find out what our Chinese New Year unit study is all about. Your family will discover the history and customs of Chinese New Year. After exploring traditional Chinese dances and creating a Chinese dragon, they will produce an animated video to share what they learned. Follow … [Read on, my friend]

A Mom’s Greatest Struggle in This Tech-Driven World

“They’re always sitting in front of a screen. That’s all they want to do. I’m tired of nagging them to get off. Things are so different than when I was a kid. I wish they would just play or read a book or do something unplugged.” Sound familiar? Those are the words in my head. And the conversation I have had with many of my friends. And the complaint I read about online. It’s a big issue for us moms, trying to figure out how to guide our kiddos’ media consumption and electronics usage. And to balance the good of … [Read on, my friend]

5 Ways to Create a Timeline Online

Timelines….a common discussion topic in the homeschool community. So many popular homeschool methods and curriculums encourage timeline creation, so most likely it is part of your home learning. I was going to let you know all the wonderful things about using timelines, but realized some other bloggers have said it better than I can. Check out Why You Should Make Time for Timelines @ The Unlikely Homeschool or Why Timelines Matter When Teaching History @ Our Journey Westward. I am a history lover, organization freak and visual learner, so I pretty much geek out over timelines. To add history to our unit studies, our family … [Read on, my friend]

15 Projects Homeschoolers Can Create With Canva

I don’t think anyone can argue that we live in a visual world. 90% of the information sent to our brains is visual, and we retain 80% of what we see as compared to 20% of what we just read or 10% of what we hear. [Check out this infographic] And this doesn’t just apply to adults, my homeschoolin’ momma friend. Your kiddos respond to visual information the same way, if not more. Now combine this with the fact that 21st century learners need to apply what they learn. They want to do something with the information they take in, putting … [Read on, my friend]

Valentine’s Day Unit Study

This Internet-based tech-driven e-Learning course is perfect for homeschoolers. Check out this video to find out what our Valentine’s Day unit study is all about. Discover the history of Valentine’s Day and learn why it’s called Valentine’s Day. Experiment with sweetheart candy. Write a love poem, and design a card to share with someone you love. Follow our Valentine’s Day Online Unit Study Pinboard for more Valentine’s Day study resources. Follow Loving Learning Freely’s board Valentine’s Day Online Unit Study on Pinterest.

8 Homeschool Webtools for an Aspiring Designer

Do you have an aspiring designer in your home? You can nurture their interest and point them towards information that will introduce them to design concepts. Your budding designer needs to “play” with the digital tools that real designers use. Check out these 8 Homeschool Webtools that "real" designers use.

Do you have an aspiring designer at home? A child who… Is always itching to make stuff Likes things “just so” Gets excited about art or building supplies Carries around a notebook just in case they see anything they need to draw Sees shapes in everything Uses color names like “coral” and “salmon” instead of “orange” Likes to take things apart to figure out how they work Explains things in pictures Whether it be graphic design or industrial design….fashion design or interior design….it is up to you, my homeschoolin’ momma friend, to nurture their interest. You don’t need to … [Read on, my friend]

When Homeschooling Doesn’t Work (for just one of your kids)

True confession time….When I was a young, idealistic homeschooling mom with three kids, I dissed traditional school. However, one day, my mom offered this advice. “You shouldn’t badmouth school in front of the girls because someday one of them may need to go to school.” My initial reaction? “My kids go to school? NEVER”. What did my mom know? She had never homeschooled…she didn’t understand the “evils” of traditional school…these are my girls (not hers) that she’s talking about. But, my mom’s words resonated. And the advice sunk in. And I realized I shouldn’t speak badly about institutional education in … [Read on, my friend]

What Homeschoolers Don’t Know (& what they need)

Homeschooled kids don't know how to learn like past generations did. Read to discover what they need.

Have you ever seen the “Kids React to Technology” Youtube video series? A narrator gives kids a rotary phone or a walkman or an old computer, and the kids need to figure out what it is and how to use it. I relate to these videos so much more than my girls do.They just sit there wondering “what’s so funny?”…since they don’t know what the items are either. (I’ll show you an episode at the end of this post. But promise you won’t watch until after you read this, or else you will get sucked into YouTube land and I’ll … [Read on, my friend]

Martin Luther King Jr. Unit Study

This FREE (to subscribers) internet-based tech-driven e-Learning course is perfect for your homeschool study for… Martin Luther King Jr. Day American History Civil Rights Movement Biographies Watch this video to find out what our Martin Luther King Jr. unit study is all about. Learn about the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. King’s impact on our country. Evaluate a famous speech and create your own. Learn to design an illustrated quote graphic and share your learning with others Discover more resources about Martin Luther King, Jr. on my Martin Luther King Jr. Online Unit Study Pinboard Follow Loving Learning Freely’s board … [Read on, my friend]