Ideas of Hands-On Learning in the Spring

 

Make a Mini Greenhouse

Label the Parts of a Flower Worksheet

Garden Seed Starting Tips

7 Plants You Need to Attract Butterflies

Butterfly Life Cycle Activity Pack

Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms Book Club

How Clouds Make Rain Experiment

Clover Nature Study

20 Spring Activities Kids Will Love

You Can Be Brave {Review}

 

We live in a busy wold.  Information is everywhere, headlines scream chaos, anxiety is on the rise.  Since 2020, counseling waitlists have grown exponentially, with many clients finding it impossible to get an appointment.  Being brave feels far out of reach when most of us are just trying to get through the day.

Author Max Lucado addresses our fear filled world, while encouraging his readers not to be filled with fear themselves.  Simply saying, "Don't worry" just doesn't cut it.  But in true Lucado style, the author walks us through how to move away from fear as default reaction, love fully, and live boldly.  Some of my favorite takeaways from this book include:

*"Parents... We can be loyal advocates, stubborn intercessors.  We can take our parenting fears to Christ.  If fact, if we don't, we will take our fees out on our kids."

*"Whether or not storms come, we cannot choose. But where we stare during a storm, that we can choose."

*"Change trampolines our lives, and when it does, God sends someone special to stabilize us (Holy Spirit)."

*"Christ distributes courage through community; he never dissipates doubts through fellowship.  He never deposits all knowledge in one person but distributes pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to many.  When you interlock your understanding with mine, and we share our discoveries... When we mix, mingle, confess, and pray, Christ speaks."

I loved that this book goes beyond the cliches of "Don't worry," "Trust the Lord," "Where's your faith?"  Instead Lucado uses real life examples of struggle and the peace that comes from laying it all down before the Lord.  His writing is a beautiful mix of Scripture and story telling, relating Biblical truth to everyday life we all find ourselves living.  This book was an easy read, but with powerful message... making brave choices today can lead us into a purposeful future with the Lord.  All in all, a worthwhile read.

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

Regarding Socialization in Homeschool

"But what about socialization?"

Ahhh.... the S word!

Socialization in homeschool really isn't as big of a deal as everyone thinks it is.  It 's so much more than simply hanging out with same aged peers all day.  It's engaging in real life social interactions with people of a variety of ages and stages.  And homeschool is the perfect environment to make that happen.  It's learning to connect, collaborate, and learn in every day life.  It's really all about building relationships.

Socialization won't happen overnight.  It does require some trial and error in finding a good family rhythm.  It means trying new classes, inviting others into your life, and building community.  But while it takes time and effort, the results are so worth it.

So while you're building your socialization circle, keep the following ideas in mind:

*Invite a family over for a meal or playdate

*Try out a local nature study group

*Say yes to meeting a friend at the park

*Look for library events (homeschool families love the library)

*Take your kids on every day errands and encourage them to interact with others

*Join a volunteer group 

*Plug into a local church and small group

*Establish a reoccurring commitment with family or friends

*Join a sports team and actually interact with the other families

*Look for low cost kid classes at the YMCA

*Join a local park meet up

*Start something new!

It can definitely take some effort to find your niche.  But when you do, the socialization issue just falls into place.  Don't get frustrated if it doesn't happen on the first try.  Rarely does anyone connect instantaniously.  But with a little time and effort, you'll find your community, and socialization concerns will feel like a far distant worry.

How do you address the socialization issue?

Weekend Links ll April 17, 2026

Five Reasons You Need Poetry In Your Homeschool

Rainy Day Poetry Pack

Learning About Haiku Poetry

Introducing Poetry to High Schoolers

Free Homeschool Poetry Unit

Three Ways to Explore Poetry As A Homeschooling Family

Celebrating National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month and what a fun opportunity to play with language.  Poetry is one of those subjects that can seem to get lost if we don't make an intentional effort to incorporate it into our homeschool.  But the language is so rich and it's really very easy to place into our homeschool plans.  Good poetry is like good books.  It plays into the family culture, building vocabulary and creating a shared experience.  It expands our world and forces us to look at life differently.  Poetry takes big universal truths and distills them down into simple lines with layers of meaning and importance.  And there are so many resources to draw from.

Additionally, poetry is great for teaching metaphorical thinking in the older grades.  Subtlety of language, layers of inference, critical thinking are all part of having poetry in your homeschool.  Playing with poetry in a fun and engaging way can create life-long poetry lovers and thinkers in your home.   Avoid the urge to dissect everything you read. Read silly poems, thoughtful poems, poems about nature and poems about life.  And just enjoy!

Pick only a few to look at deeply.  Talk about how the poet uses letter sounds, line breaks, rhyme, etc to convey his meaning.  And don't be afraid to disagree with a poet's style.  That level of deep thinking is valuable too.

Start with reading.  Share some of your favorite poems with your kids.  I personally love Robert Frost's poetry.  The library is a great resource for finding new poems to read.  Hearing the language spoken adds beautiful depth and nuance.  There are also a variety of resources online of finding new poetry.  Try Ambleside Online, Youtube or 21 Must Read Poems for Kids.  Looking for something different?  What about The BreakBeat Poets or Echo Echo. And listen to beautiful orators recite their favorite poems.  One I particularly love is Sr. Michael Caine sharing Rudyard Kipling's IF.

Watch a mini biography about a favorite poet.  Try: Edgar Allen Poe,  Walt Whitman,    William Blake, Phyllis Wheatley,   Robert Frost, or  Christina Rossetti. Talk about what may have influenced their writing and the themes they presented.

Memoize rich poetry together. Practice one of the poems you've been reading or pick from 12 Poems to Memorize. Check out silly kids' poetry books from the library and find one that you can great hand motions for.  Laugh, be silly, memorize tongue twisters or The Jabberwocky from Lewis Carroll.

Do SOME Analysis work.  Don't overdo it, but when you get comfortable, some analysis can be fun.  Look for things like this Easter Poetry Analysis Pack, or Learning through Literature's Poem of the Month.

And don't forget to Create!  Let your students become poets too.  Have a special poetry tea time to share what they're writing themselves and celebrate their hard work.

Write a blackout poem 

Create a poem with this poem generator

Or maybe this one

Spring Acrostic Poetry

Write an "I Am" poem

Create a partner poem like the Echo Echo book

Discover National Haiku Day

AND HAVE FUN!

Don't forget that poetry is all about playing with language.  Pushing the boundaries of creativity and conveying meaning as concisely as possible.  Read deep poetry, read nature poetry, read silly poetry... read with voices... read slow... read poets you disagree with ... and especially read poets you love!

How Do You Celebrate National Poetry Month?