These video lessons are made to go along with the Chalk Pastel lesson books that Tricia has over at Southern Hodge Podge. There are lots of options, so be sure to scroll through everything that’s available here!
Free Art Lessons Using Chalk Pastels!
June 9, 2014 Leave a Comment
Free FULL Homeschool Curriculum: Ambleside Online!
October 17, 2013 Leave a Comment
If you’re looking for a full FREE online homeschooling curriculum you definitely should take a look at Ambleside Online. If you’ve homeschooled for any period of time you’ve probably heard of the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling. The Charlotte Mason method is wonderful in that it uses lots and lots of real “living’ books along with certain other ideas, and makes for an excellent education. There are tons of different curriculum out there that utilize the Charlotte Mason Method and Ambleside Online is one of them.
One of the best benefits to choosing Ambleside Online as your main curriculum is the fact that it’s FREE! Ambleside online uses only free and available online resources. You’ll find some wonderful things to help with your Charlotte Mason Homeschool such as booklists, schedules, and recommendations as well as a forum to discuss it with others.
The Benefits of Ambleside Online:
- Living Books Galore: Instead of dry textbooks, Ambleside Online introduces you to living books—books that are beautifully written and packed with knowledge that sticks with your kids.
- A Rich and Well-Rounded Curriculum: Ambleside Online doesn’t just tick off the academic boxes. It nurtures the whole child. With poetry, nature studies, artist studies, and music appreciation, your children get a holistic education that goes beyond just math and reading.
- Flexibility: The curriculum is set up by year, so you can pick the level that best suits your child’s needs. And because it’s a free resource, you have the freedom to adapt it, adding in or skipping what works for your family. There’s no pressure to “keep up” with anyone else.
- Community Support: One of the best parts about Ambleside Online is the community. The website has forums where you can connect with other moms, ask questions, share successes, and get advice when you hit a bump in the road. Homeschooling can sometimes feel like an isolated journey, but having a community makes all the difference.
- Character Development: Ambleside Online includes Bible readings and teachings that foster moral and character development. Whether you use this aspect of the curriculum or not, the emphasis on virtue and good character is woven throughout, which is something I deeply appreciate as I guide my kids not just academically, but also in becoming godly people.
How to Get Started
Getting started with Ambleside Online is as simple as heading over to their website. They offer detailed schedules, book lists, and guidance on how to implement the curriculum. Take your time browsing through the materials. If you’re anything like me, you might feel a bit overwhelmed at first, but don’t worry—the site has plenty of resources to help you get your bearings.
Be sure to check out our master list of free full online homeschooling curriculum here.
Free Memory Verse Puzzles for Scripture Memorization
September 10, 2013 Leave a Comment
Playing memory games is an excellent way to cement what your kids are learning in their homeschool! Here’s a great freebie to help with scripture memorization.
Adventures in Mommydom is offering free printable memory verse puzzles. Just add velcro strips to card stock paper or to laminated paper and have your kids put the words in order.
Click Here To Get The Printable Memory Verse Puzzles (includes 12 verses)
Disney Will Teach You How To Create Your Own Theme Park!
April 7, 2010 Leave a Comment
Disney has an entire course on Khan Academy that teaches you how artists, designers and engineers work together to create theme parks. Go behind the scenes with Disney Imagineers and complete project-based exercises to design a theme park of your very own with Imagineering In A Box!
Lesson 1: Build your own world
This lesson addresses the question: where do you want to go? It introduces the idea of experiential storytelling and the difference between an amusement park and a theme park. We’ll explore how storytelling and theme impact every decision made in the design of a land and how they engage all senses.
You’ll walk out of this lesson with a theme and high concept for a land of your own design along with a mood board and map that conveys the land.
Lesson 2: Build your own attractions
This lesson addresses the question: what do you want to do in your themed land? It introduces students to the range of possible attractions within a themed land with a focus on dark rides. It exposes the importance of theme and storytelling in attractions in general. Following the creative development process at Walt Disney Imagineering, students envision and design their own dark ride. This includes both the artistic (beat sheets, models) and engineering (throughput, footprint) aspects of ride design.
You’ll walk out of this lesson with a beat sheet (bullet point summary), a digital layout and a physical model of your attraction.
Lesson 3: Build your own character
This lesson addresses the question: who do you want to meet in your land or attraction? (Who lives there?) The lesson introduces a variety of ways that Walt Disney Imagineering brings characters to life and explores the process of character development through character sheets, performance, costume design, armatures, actuation and control (with a focus on animatronics).
You’ll walk out of this lesson with a character sheet, a costume, a simple physical armature design and a digital actuated armature.
