Here is the second part of my list of worthwhile fiction for Catholic High Schoolers. (Check out Part 1 here). I recommend these books for young adults sixteen and older either because of a more challenging theme or more mature content such as graphic violence, situations involving fornication or adultery, or language. I will specify … Continue reading Good Books for Catholic High Schoolers Part 2 (Age 16 and up)
Homeschooling high school using notebook pages is a wonderful way to document learning in a personalized way. Tips and ideas!
Helpful information for student research can be found in an atlas or almanac, but even more research can be completed using geography websites.
Middle school and high schoolers will enjoy learig about the extraordinary life of David Livingstone an his famous expeditions of Africa.
Celebrate Women's History month by taking a moment to record your own family's women's history. This post includes some great resources to get you started.
1. Attach an image (photo, magazine, etc.) to a notebook page and write about it. 2. What things will people in the future say about how we live now? (Examples: They ate that? They believed that?) 3. Pick one from each list to make a creature and animal combination. Now write a short story or scene in which this creature appears. List 1 List 2 Vampire porcupine Ninja armadillo Zombie pig Pirate goat Mummy lobster Clown possum Banshee shark Wraith moray eel 4. Imagine a future in which we each have a personalized robot servant. What would yours be like? What would it do? What features would it have? 5. What does your name mean? Free write about names: names you like, names you don’t, how a name can affect a person’s life, how you feel about your own name, why your parents chose your name, etc. 6. Create a brand new holiday with its own traditions, rituals, foods, and activities. 7. What road-trip would you take if you suddenly could? Write about it. 8. List six true sentences that begin with the words “I'll never forget…” 9. Imagine that we lost all electricity, water, and gas for a month without any time to prepare. Write about how your life would change and how you would survive. 10. Make your bucket list for the next 5 years, the next 10 years, and for life. 11. Tell this story: “Well, I thought it was going to be a regular summer doing all our regular things…” 12. List 10 places in the world that you would most like to visit, 10 places you’ve been, and 10 places you would never want to go. 13. Think about hospitality in your family. What’s it like to have guests in your house? Do you prefer to have friends to your house or to go to a friend’s house? 14. Pick a family member of two and write about his or her reputation in your family, or tell a family legend. 15. A guitar pick, a red balloon, and a wicker basket. Write a scene or a poem that includes these three objects. 16. What animal would judge us the most? Write a scene (based on truth or fiction) where two or more people are doing something silly, and they're being observed and criticized by animals. 17. Write about your own worst family vacation memory. 18. Write about your best family vacation memory. 19. Imagine that someone says to you, “Because that's how we've always done it!” Write this out as a scene. (Think: Who said it, what were the circumstances, how did you respond, etc.) 20. What do you think about when you can't sleep? Turn it into a piece of writing. 21. What traditions does your family have? List all of them or just pick one and write about it. 22. Think about your strongest emotion right now (irritation, boredom, happiness, contentment, etc.) and find five quotes about this emotion. 23. What do you struggle with the most? Write about it. 24. Write a self-portrait. 25. What can we learn from contrast? Write a description of something very dark (like a crow) in a very light place (like a field of snow). Make the dark thing seem innocent and the light thing seem ominous. 26. Write about someone who has no enemies. Is it even possible? 27. Think of a person from your past who really deserved a good scolding but never got one. Write a fictional piece where you tell that person off intelligently. 28. Can honesty honestly be bad? Write about someone, fact or fiction, who gets in trouble for being too truthful. 29. The word “fat” carries a negative connotation. Write a story or observation where something fat is celebrated. 30. What animal lives beneath your human skin? A mouse? A cougar? Or what? Explain with writing. 31. Write about the best piece of advice you ever received. 32. Remember a favorite book from your childhood. Write a scene that includes you and an old copy of that book you find somewhere. --> 33. “I was so mortified, I wanted to crawl in a hole!” Write a short narrative (fiction or nonfiction) where this is your first sentence. Illustrate it if you want. 34. Should books ever be banned? Discuss. If no, explain why. You might want to look at a least of commonly banned books. If yes, explain under what circumstances. 35. Ernest Hemingway said to “write hard and clear about what hurts.” Write about something that hurts, whether it’s an emotional, physical, or phantom pain. 36. What if everyone had to wear a shirt with his or her Myers-Briggs personality type on it? What would this change? How would this affect the way people interact with each other? Would you like this or hate it? (If you don’t know your “type,” try this site. 37. William Shakespeare wrote that: “Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free without indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood.” Write your thoughts about conversation, or make up dialogue between two characters who are meeting each other for the first time in an unexpected place. 38. Tell this story: “There it was, finally. Our island. Our very own island. It looked beautiful above the waves of fog, but there was still one question to be answered: why had they sold it to us for only five dollars?” 39. Maya Angelou said “I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way s/he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.” Tell a story in which a character has to deal with one, two, or all three of these scenarios. How does your character respond? 40. You have a chance to go back and completely re-do an event in your life. What is it, and how to you change it? What is the outcome? This can be a real or fictional event. 41. Pick two characters from different books you’ve read this year and have them get in an argument about something (e.g., who has suffered more, who has had a happier life, etc.). 42. The one shoe in the road: why is it there? Write a story about the circumstances that led to one shoe in the middle of the road. 43. You get to guest star on a TV show. What show is it? What happens in this particular episode? 44. What would you pack in your suitcase if you could not go home again? 45. You can only use 20 words for the rest of your life. You can repeat them as often as you wish, but you can only use these words. What are they? 46. What current fashion in clothing do you particularly like or dislike? Why? 47. Choose five symbols or objects that represent you. Why did you choose these things? 48. "When I stepped outside, the whole world smelled like…" Write a scene that starts with that line. 49. Write a poem entitled "Hitchhiking on a Saturday Afternoon." 50. Use these two lines of dialogue in a story: "What's in your hand?" "It's mine. I found it." 51. Write a scene that happens in a parking lot between a teenager and a man in a convertible. 52. If you only had one window to look out of for the next six months, what would you want to see on the other side? Describe the view. How would it change? 53. Write a story for children. Start with “Once upon a time” or “Long ago in a land far away.” Include a dragon, a deadly flower, and a mask. 54. "Did she actually just say that?" Write a scene that includes this line. 55. “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” — Jane Howard. Write what comes to mind when you read this quote. 56. List five things you want in a relationship. 57. List ten favorite lines from movies. 58. Write about the biggest mistake you made this week. Now write about the best thing you did this week. 59. What is the very first memory that you have? Write about it. 60. What if your pet could only talk to you at midnight for an hour? 61. Write an acrostic poem using your full name and three words that describe you—good and bad— for each letter. For example, S: sensitive, stubborn, smiling. A: artistic, argumentative, agoraphobic M: melodramatic, moody, magical 62. What if you could create your own TV show with all your friends and loved ones as the cast? What kind of show would it be and who would play which parts? 63. Take a photo or draw a picture of every place you go in a day. Put the pictures or drawings in your journal. 64. A to Z: Make an alphabetical list of advice for someone who is about to become a teenager. For example: A: ask forgiveness, not permission. B.: bake cookies. C.: cook something delicious once a month. D: don't compare yourself to others. 65. Find 10 quotes about happiness. 66. Write about 5 things you'd rather be doing right now. 67. Write out the lyrics to your favorite song. Find some pictures to illustrate the song. 68. Who do you spend the most time talking to? Siblings, parents, friends? Make a list of who you actually talk to during the day and estimate the amount of time invested in each individual. Does the list reveal your priorities? Is it proportional to what is important to you? Make notes of what you talk about in your daily conversations. 69. Find a quote for each month of the year. 70. Animals can sometimes seem remarkably human. Describe an experience with an animal that acted in a very human way. 71. Imagine you opted to have yourself frozen for 50 years. Describe your first days unfrozen, 50 years in the future. 72. Imagine that you are an astronaut who has been doing research on the moon for three years. You are do to go back to earth in a week when nuclear war breaks out on earth. You watch the earth explode. Then what? 73. Create a menu from a fictitious restaurant. Make sure the restaurant has a theme, such as Classic Books, and the food should all be given appropriate names (e.g., “Mockingbird Pie”). 74. Preconceived notions are often false. Describe a time when you discovered that a preconceived notion of yours (about a person, place, or thing) turned out to be wrong. 75. Create a story using words of one-syllable only, beginning with a phrase such as: “The last time I saw her, she...” “From the back of the truck...” “On the night of the full moon...” “The one thing I know for sure…” 76. Describe a significant person (teacher, neighbor, mentor, coach, parent, sibling, sweetheart) with as many physical details as possible and as many similes as possible. (E.g., “Her hair was as golden as straw.”) 77. Write about your first name—why you were given it, what associations or stories are attached to it, what you think or know it means. Do the same for your last name. What name would you give yourself other than the one you actually have? 78. Parents are our first and most important teachers. Describe a valuable lesson you learned from one of your parents. 79. Imagine a moral dilemma (for example, you see someone shoplift or a friend tells a blatant lie to her parents about where she was last night) and explain what you would do and why you would do it. 80. Review an obituary, birth, or a section from the police record or classified ads section of a local newspaper. Choose one and tell the story behind it. 81. List the most attractive things about your current hometown. Now list the most unattractive things. 82. Come up with a list of nouns and a second list of verbs, all of one syllable each. Describe a scene or situation, using a minimum of ten words from each list. 83. Where is your happy place? Write about it and include a picture or drawing. 84. Create a how-to manual for something you can do well (make a craft, bake cookies, restring a guitar, apply make up, etc.). Describe the process so that someone else could complete the task based on your directions. Use present tense verbs. 85. Free write on this quote by Samuel Johnson: “Ignorance, when voluntary, is criminal.” 86. Find a favorite quote and work it into an illustration. (Inspiration here.) 87. Make a soundtrack for your life so far. List songs that describe you or different times of your life. (Make the actual soundtrack on Spotify, etc. too!) 88. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that force us to face our deepest fears. Tell about a time when you had to face one of your greatest fears—or make up the story. 89. You’re a talk show host. Pick two guests. Why did you choose them? Are they people who get along, or people with vastly different viewpoints? Write about the episode. 90. What three books do you think should be required reading for everyone? Why? 91. “What you don’t know what hurt you.” Write a story that begins with this statement. 92. Free write on this quote by Woodrow Wilson: “Friendship is the only cement that will hold the world together.” 93. According to a Czechoslovakian proverb, “Better a lie that soothes than a truth that hurts.” Agree or disagree? Explain. 94. Rewrite “The Tale of the Three Little Pigs” by using people that you know as the pigs and the wolf. 95. There is a saying that you should be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. Describe a time when you wished for something and got it—and then wished you hadn’t—or make up a story in which this happens to the character. 96. As the saying goes, “rules are meant to be broken.” Tell about a time when you broke the rules and what happened as a result. 97. "That's not what I meant!" Write a story that has this line in it somewhere. 98. A blue trash can, a red picture frame, a teddy bear with the stuffing falling out, and a padlock. Put these four items somewhere in a story, scene, or poem. 99. Write your name in outline letters on a whole sheet of paper. Now fill in each letter with words you like that begin with that letter. For example: 100. Make a word collage of who YOU are. Use pictures too, if desired. **HURRAH! You can now purchase this as a digital PDF ($2) at Teachers Pay Teachers. For more creative writing ideas, check out my free WordSmithery creative writing lessons and my popular Ultimate Guide to Creative Writing Resources! Check out 100 other 100 Things posts from the bloggers at iHomeschool Network! Do you have it yet? The Big Book of Homeschooling Ideas—a collaboration of over 50 authors with 103 chapters— is now available! Don't miss this amazing resource!
Studying Church History: why our high schoolers spend a year digging into the church's past and exploring doctrine, events, and other stuff that doesn't show up on an SAT.
If you’re looking for a unique way to inspire your children’s curiosity and interest in history, consider introducing them to genealogy. Your own family tree will make history more relevant.
Middle school world history doesn't need to be dry and boring. Get your homeschoolers excited about history with engaging text, vivid pictures, historical documents, hands-on projects, and more!
This is my favorite game of all. It is pretty simple, but young children like simple! I've started with just my husband and me, but the "game" can be expanded later to include our parents and grandparents on back. I merely have to collect more stories, objects and pictures. The point is to listen to very short stories and then find a simple object that matches the story and place it on the correct picture. I began by brainstorming stories for both of us. I included a story of my husband working in a gas station in high school, another of my husband's love of spooky ghost stories, a story of when I stepped on a nail and one of how I came to love geology and rocks, etc. Just really simple memories. Stories can be short or long, depending on the age and interest of the children. I wrote these stories on slips of paper and folded them. Then I located a little object to represent each story. For example, the fish represents a story of a fishing trip my husband remembers with his grandfather. Because I have to multiply the game for each of my children, these objects have to be very simple and inexpensive. With just the two pictures, the family would divide into teams. With additional pictures and objects, each person might have a picture of their own to tend. So you play the game in turns with someone picking up a paper and reading the story. Then everyone can decide which object goes with that story and the person with the correct picture collects the object and places it on their picture. Play continues until all the stories, objects and pictures are matched. If you have a lot of time and interest, more stories can be included. If time is short or the children have limited attention, just decrease the number of stories, saving the others for another time. I like the aspect of being able to add to the game, sending additional stories, objects, and pictures of other family members as I get them finished.
Lewis & Clark Family Style Homeschool Unit Study: Practical, real-life writing and lessons, hands-on activities, and more for middle to high schoolers
Inside you’ll find: Picture books about Asia for grade schoolers. Countries included are China, Japan, Korea and Thailand and even Tibet. Every homeschool semester, I get all giddy as I pick an area of the world that the boys and I will focus our picture book habit on. (It’s an addiction really. I had 96 [...]
Are you looking for ways to get your children interested in family history? Here are some great family history activities to get them involved!
Art museum activities encourage children to explore art and express their own creativity. Try our art museum activities with your kids!
These important antiracism resources are perfect for families and include books, documentaries, and podcasts ideal for learning and growth!
The Seek and Find Photo Book is also a fun project. I wanted a way to help my young grandchildren interact with our historical family photos. Just looking at pictures and scrapbooks can be fun for older kids and adults, but the little ones are not as interested unless they have some guidance. That's where the concept of seek and find comes into play. I chose several historical photos that had a lot going on or those that featured subjects that would be interesting to children. Then, I studied the photos and tried to find details that were repeated or otherwise engaging. For example, in the picture above, there are 8 children in a parade, 2 white socks, 3 cowboy hats, 1 clown, a hobo stick and only two smiles among the bunch! Other pictures in the book include finding the number ten on my dad's basketball jersey, counting buttons or pockets in a portrait of grandparents, etc. Just look for the details and make a list. After finding all the details, one can still visit about the picture for as long as attention allows. I used a word processing document to build the pages and then printed them out and put the pages in sheet protectors. I actually want to investigate making a board book with these pictures so that the book is a little more sturdy. The Family Story Swap game comes from the July 2013 issue of The Friend magazine. It is a game with simple interview questions or story prompts to answer by turns. The purpose is to help family members get to know each other through conversation and memories.
Don’t hide your family history! Show it off with these inspiring projects and gift ideas using your family photos and heirlooms.
How well do you know your siblings? Give your beginning writer a fun activity, where he'll answer questions about his big or little brother!
Looking for Martin Luther and the Reformation resources for your family? Check out this treasure trove of resources for Reformation Day!
Today, we have a guest post by one of our readers, Lindsey Crouch. Lindsey found our post about teaching youth to use census records, then adapted it for a younger age group. She’s here to share he…
Colonial Williamsburg is offering Fall Homeschool Days to home-schoolers and their families from Sept. 8-23.
Roman Britain Virtual Museum Tour & Unit Study is perfect for Upper Elementary through Middle School. It is also excellent companion work (final project) for any high schooler studying ancient history, archaeology, or British history. Get the Unit Study today.
Learn about The Scottish Crannog on Loch Tay and discover a piece of iron age history. I had no idea the Iron Age was this developed!
Share & Help Me GrowOn one summer afternoon when my children were bored, I thought I would guide my children to decorate a cardboard castle that I had made from leftover shipping boxes. Taking two large boxes and cutting them down into castle shapes, I made windows and outlined the drawbridge. All was well until I […]
Medieval period is a fascinating time to study, and these activities will bring it to life for tweens. From authentic recipes to knights and castles, there's something here for everyone.
Roman Britain Virtual Museum Tour & Unit Study is perfect for Upper Elementary through Middle School. It is also excellent companion work (final project) for any high schooler studying ancient history, archaeology, or British history. Get the Unit Study today.
Kids will have fun learning about the states with these FREE US State Worksheets for Kids. Lots of options for Prek-8th graders.
Teach Reformation History for Kids this Reformation Day with 13 biographical cards that focus on the story of Martin Luther and the Reformation.
Homeschool dads are an integral part of homeschool life. Find out how homeschool dads can support their family spiritually, emotionally, and financially.
Roman Britain Virtual Museum Tour & Unit Study is perfect for Upper Elementary through Middle School. It is also excellent companion work (final project) for any high schooler studying ancient history, archaeology, or British history. Get the Unit Study today.
Check out this ultimate guide to history simulations- what they are, why and how to use them, and tips for simulation success!
Are you looking for a fun and sneaky way to get some math practice into your kids’ day?
Learn about mummification by making apple mummies with Ancient Egypt science experiment and explore Magic Tree House Mummies in the Morning!
Are you homeschooling future entrepreneurs in your family? Where do you begin to teach these skills, especially if it’s not something you’re familiar with yourself? I’m happy to say that Mr. D Math has a brand new online self-paced course called Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship that offers the ideal solution for homeschool families who want to...
When studying the American pioneers in your homeschool, middle school kids won't be bored if you add in some fun hands-on activities, like these involving food.
This Famous African-Americans: A Mini Research Project is the perfect Black History Month activity for your middle schoolers. Your students will get to dig into the lives of some of the most influential African Americans in our history, and learn how to conduct responsible online research. To begin, students will create a booklet that will guide them through the research process. This booklet is structured enough to provide guidance, but still gives students plenty of opportunity to find the information and facts that they find most interesting. This booklet will also provide support as students quote, summarize, and paraphrase the information they find, as well as help in constructing a bibliography in correct MLA format. This product contains: • Lesson plans • Directions for assembling booklets (with pictures!) • Pages to create booklets for eight prominent African Americans (Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Ruby Bridges, Guion Bluford, Langston Hughes, Harriet Tubman, Thurgood Marshall, and Barack Obama). • Informative signs for each African American for launching the unit • Ideas for presenting research (beyond the research paper!) Thanks so much for shopping! Enjoy :)
Lewis & Clark Family Style Homeschool Unit Study: Practical, real-life writing and lessons, hands-on activities, and more for middle to high schoolers
One of the hallmarks of our home education journey has been our steady use of Morning Time in our homeschool. Today I’d like to share how I include my teens in this intentional daily gathering time. Morning Time or as we like to call it, Morning Basket is a way to start the day in …
Introduce children to medieval history with the stunning photos and wonderful at-home learning resources in this post on visiting Craigmillar Castle!
Our local homeschool support group runs five age-based book club meetings each month (teens meet weekly), and I lead the Juniors which roughly covers ages 8-10 (3rd-5th grade). Some of the older 5th graders have moved up to the middle school group, but most of them have remained in Juniors for this year so we
Need help scheduling your homeschool? Use our 7th grade homeschool schedule and lesson plans for the 2017-2018 school year as a guide for your homeschool.
