Technology in Homeschool

If you missed yesterday’s post, I shared about this week’s Tapestry of Grace studies along with my answer to a reader’s question. Tapestry is a unit study approach for the whole family. It works so well for our age range of children.

So, in today’s weekly wrap, I’m offering glimpses into the rest of our week. Plus, at Curriculum Choice, I have a review of My iPad for Kids. If you are wondering how you can best use your iPad for homeschool learning, this might be the resource for you too!

My iPad for Kids

The iPad is a wonderful learning tool. Each of our five children use it in one or more ways to complement specific subjects. Our youngest one practices with learning to read apps, our first grader practices handwriting with Oceans Letter Writer and cursive. Our eldest two children supplement Apologia Biology with the app flashcards by iHomeEducator. They also learn more about technology using the iPad to view tutorials on Lynda.com. Then, of course, there is Angry Birds…

My iPad for Kids, 2nd Edition, takes iPad learning to a new level. This handy book written by author Sam Costello and available through Que Publishing, gives you a plan, points out new ways of learning we hadn’t thought of, and even helps “reassure your parents that you can use your iPad and the internet safely and responsibly.”

Technology in Hodgepodge Homeschool

I thought you might be interested in more of the ways we handle technology in our home, in our homeschool. Here is my answer to a reader. Thanks for your question, Debbie:

Q: This is our 2nd year to homeschool and my daughter is in the 6th grade. She has hit the stage of life where all her friends are getting cell phones and what I call “gadgets”. She got a Kindle fire for Christmas, which is wonderful for reading books and playing educational games…but, what do we do to stop the peer pressure and being caught up in a technological world with “gadgets”? Also, I do believe she would watch TV 24 hours a day if allowed, but I do monitor TV time in a strict way. If left to me, there would be no TV or telephone service of any kind in my house.

A: Hi Debbie – I understand that peer pressure with technical gadgets. We have an iPad. It’s a wonderful learning tool – makes it handy for bringing some of our ebooks we use to our kitchen table. But we have some guidelines about technology. Our devices only have internet access at certain times of day. And we aim to stick with our regular schedule. There are two times when the children can have a technology ‘reward’ – if their Before 8:45 checklist is completed well (we don’t stick absolutely to the time) and at 4 pm – if school work is complete for the day, jurisdictions are picked up and a few of the regular chores are done. It’s been years worth of building habits but it is very much worth it! As parents, we have to be the gatekeepers and rulers of technology in our home. Technology is a tool we must rule.

1. Do you have portable containers for moving homeschool all over the house? | 2. Littlest Girl is excited to learn to tell time with Saxon 1st Grade Math! | 3. Whole lotta Tapestry of Grace this week. My two eldest are using the Writing Aids guide for their assignments, above. | 4. A cozy fire always makes a homeschool morning warmer.

A few posts for further reading which might help:

• 10 Parts of the Hodgepodge Homeschool Schedule
• Taming the Wild West (mobile devices) by Hodgepodgedad
• Technology Habits by Hodgepodgedad
• The Habit of Wise Music Choices – by my friend Little Sanctuary (for all those iPods)
• All of Hodgepodgedad’s technology reviews – including Lynda.com the older children use for tutorials on applications and more as well as our favorite iPad apps like GloBible.

I hope this helps some!

Volatile Volcanoes Unit Study

We used the laptop to gather around and watch some really great volcano videos. As a follow up to our A Child’s Geography studies, we’ve been enjoying a wonderful unit study by Amanda Bennett entitled Volatile Volcanoes. I’ll be sharing a review of this resource at Curriculum Choice next month. Plus a wonderful chalk pastel to accompany it. You can imagine what that might be!

Hearts and Trees Spring Kit

Middle Girl thoroughly enjoyed a ‘Painting with Scissors’ Matisse inspired art project. She studied the Matisse painting. And then she cut out shapes from construction paper, arranging them as Matisse did. She then painted it! What I truly love about Hearts and Trees kits is everything you need is included. The instructions are detailed yet simple enough for my fifth grader to follow. And that makes things easy on Mama! That means it is easy to say yes. Next she wants to work on the goldfish lapbook. Take a look at Hearts and Trees to see what all is included in the spring kit – as well as other kits that might be just right for you.

Nature Study Signs of Spring

We did watch birds last weekend during the Great Backyard Bird Count. But what we’ve noticed most are the beautiful signs of spring all around the yard! Middle Girl used picollage on my iPhone to create this collage for me (using technology!).

Plus, there are a few things cooking at Hodgepodge. We have an absolutely free ebook for you –  Slow Cooker Batch Cooking is the super supper saver. And we are anticipating two cookbooks just in time for spring!

Many thanks to our Friday hostesses!

• Collage Friday hostess Mary at Home Grown Learners
• Homeschool Mother’s Journal at iHomeschool Network
• Weekly Wrap-Up hostess Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
• No Fear Homeschool High School at The Daisy Head

Technology is a wonderful tool for homeschooling. I’m thankful for the ways we can use these tools. How ’bout you? How do you use technology in your homeschool?

Hearts and Trees: Art, Handicrafts and Nature Study for your Homeschool