Today we’re celebrating Fun Friday within our homeschooling. We don’t get to do this every Friday, because sometimes our schedule doesn’t allow for it (like when we have to take a little time off for a meeting, appointment, visiting friends, etc earlier in the week and we really need to use Friday for bookwork).
When we do get to “celebrate” though it means that we put the traditional textbooks aside for the day and we use puzzles, games, and fun/colorful non-fiction books for learning. I truly believe that play and lots of reading aloud are vital parts of learning.
In this video I shared how we are using an IKEA Raskog cart for organizing some of our Social Studies supplies today. I want you to know that this cart isn’t always used for this and all of these manipulatives/resources have their own place in the school room. I just put them all on here to keep them organized and close at hand while we’re learning today.
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If these adorable and sturdy carts weren’t $30 each (and didn’t take up a good amount of room) I could see myself buying one for each subject and loading it up like I did today. BUT, I’m frugal-ish, so I just have baskets (like the one pictured in the top of the cart) for each subject and have those on a sweet little bookshelf that Mr. Awesome built for me. Gosh I love that man!
The things I mention in the videos:
Target “The One Spot” books, you can pick these up at the end of summer when they start putting out school supplies. They are almost always $1, and occasionally $3 for a really great book. If you can’t wait until July/August you can find some of these really cheap on Amazon.
Here are a few of the titles we own: Let’s Read About– George Washington, Presidents of the United States Reading Discovery, & Understanding the Declaration of Independence. You will end up paying shipping this way (about $4), so it’s best to wait and find them in the store if you can.
If You… Book Series– These books are phenomenal! I’ll admit I even love reading them without the kids. They are so fascinating and teach you so much at a basic level but the stories are very thorough. Clearly these are great for all ages.
Who Were the First North Americans book from Usborne books.
Southwestern Advantage Books– sold to us by a door-to-door salesmen. Good info, but overwhelming for my kiddos. We reference these very little. I do like that we have them on hand, but man they were EXPENSIVE!
Melissa and Doug USA Floor Puzzle– The toddler LOVES watching her big siblings put this together. She’ll be doing it on her own in no time!
United States of America Wooden Puzzle with States and Capitals. The one we bought was $10-$15 from Target, it’s a good hands on learning tool. I looked for it on Amazon and the exact one we have is selling for $49.99 right now. YIKES! So I linked up a very similar puzzle that still has both the states and capitals printed on it. Pretty please do NOT spend $50 on a puzzle, that’s ridiculous.
Sequence States and Capitals Game.
Dover Coloring books and an Atlas. you can view my full post about how we use those HERE.
I hope this helps give you some ideas to use in your homeschooling, or at home learning. We did not purchase these things all at one time, and I’m very careful about what I bring into our school room. I believe in quality over quantity (I’ve learned this with age and experience).
As always, do what works for you and your kiddos!
If you need any encouragement, suggestions, or support, in your home educating journey- I’m here for you! Use the ‘contact me’ page to send me a message or post in the comments below.
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