This is a guest post from Bekah. Please feel free to visit any of the links supplied, and her blog as well. As always please feel free to share any thoughts, on the subject.
Incorporating “toys” into the curriculum
Homeschooled parents may feel that they need to offer a lot of the things schools do. That can get pricey, especially with the neat things science labs and art rooms have. But you can get reasonable substitutions at a much lower price than schools pay just by checking out Amazon.com or Toys R Us (and keep an eye out for sales to really get a good deal).
Many of these toys are “not intended as an educational aid” - but could easily be used that way. For example, the EyeClops'>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PGRBGA?ie=UTF8&tag=mothemomen-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000PGRBGA">EyeClops Bionic Eye 
uses a TV screen to magnify objects. It’s not as good as a “real” microscope and prepared slides, but could be used with early science work. High school ceramics classes have pottery wheels, and you can buy one like http://www.target.com/Faber-Castell-Do-Art-Pottery-Studio/dp/B001B61538/sr=1-1/qid=1265228860/ref=sr_1_1/176-0493408-4493844?ie=UTF8&search-alias=tgt-index&frombrowse=0&index=target&rh=k%3Apottery%20wheel&page=1”>this at Target or one of a dozen others found at Amazon or Toys R Us.And be creative - kids can learn while playing. There are links to pages that use http://www.marshall.edu/lego/lessonplans/lessonplans.html”>Legos to teach math and science. A wide variety of science kits and art supplies can be bought at toy and craft stores. Puppets can be incorporated into language and literature classes. Balloons can teach about pressure and temperature. As a homeschooling parent, become aware of using teaching moments when your kids are being kids. Not every educational experience has to happen with textbooks or fancy equipment!Bekah blogs at http://motherhood-moment.blogspot.com”>Motherhood Moment where she writes about family activities, eco-friendly living, money- and time-saving tricks, and more. She is a work-at-home mother of two girls, age 0 and 2, who teaches German and math at an online high school
Bekah
motherhood-moment.blogspot.com
4 comments:
Great post! I really loved Bekah's blog and all the money and time-saving ideas and suggestions she has on there.
This is a great idea. children learn a lot while playing so why not incorporate educational toys into the curriculum indeed? That way,they'll be more excited to attend classes everyday coz they're having fun. Math and Science can be very boring for most kids unless the teacher gets creative.
I believe it'll also work for better retention.
Really great post and your blog is very informative. you have cheap and best products.
Thank you to all of you, and thanks to Bekah.
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