Mohr Adventures in World Schooling

Tomie dePaola, great American children's author and illustrator, died Monday March 30, 2020.  Sources say he died from complications from a fall in his studio, a converted barn.  Because of coronavirus, he died alone in the hospital.  Although he was alone, I hope he knows that all the hearts of those he touched with his works are with him in spirit and wishing his family the best. He is most well known for his Strega Nona books, which my daughter loves.  Strega Nona took us on many wonderful journeys while rarely leaving her little town in Italy.  Big Anthony was always there to give us a laugh, whether its forgetting how to turn off the pasta pot, growing his own mess of a garden, or messing up the machines of another Strega.  He always learned a lesson and we did too.  And every once in a while he did something incredibly sweet, like messing up Strega Nona's Christmas Eve feast on purpose so that the village could surprise her for once. Strega...

Objective:  To prepare for a family trip to Yellowstone by studying some of the science and history behind Yellowstone.  We chose to explore a native group - the Shoshone, one of the states inside - Wyoming and the founder of the National Parks Service - Teddy Roosevelt.  We discussed things we might find at the park like geysers, calderas, wolves, and petrified wolves. Learning Goals: Language Arts - Listen to a variety of texts, both fiction and non-fiction. Social Studies - Learn about Native Americans.  Discuss famous Americans.  Be familiar with maps and globes. Science - Become familiar with animals - beginning zoololgy.  Be able to describe the basic composition of the earth. Where is Yellowstone: To learn about where Yellowstone could be found, we read Yellowstone: A True Book .  Using what we learned from that book, we found the states where Yellowstone could be found in our puzzle of the United States and while playing The Scrambled ...

Our family uses three main learning resources online: ABC Mouse, PBS Kids, and the Khan Kids app.  Both PBS Kids and Khan Kids are free resources, while ABC Mouse has a free trial period but does require payment after the first month. ABC Mouse: The Positives:  The learning path makes it easy to track your child's progress through age appropriate learning goals.  If you are really interested, there are assessments available to further customize your child's learning and test their school readiness.  These are available for an additional fee.  Many of the puzzles can be adjusted to your child's level.  The games are fairly easy to understand and replayable for those who are interested.  Students earn tickets for completing lessons, which can be used for virtual pets, customizing an avatar or decorating rooms.  Students have the freedom to leave the learning path and choose their own activities as they wish.  Although most of the site requir...

There are many different types of school styles for the homeschooling set.  Unschoolers use child-led activities, realizing the educational value of many interests children have.  Parents can also use their child's interests and life around them to create units in Unit Study homeschooling.  For more classical styles, parents can set up their own school room and try to run a more typical school in their home.  Charlotte Mason, Thomas Jefferson, Montessori and Waldorf are each styles inspired by their namesakes, some relying more heavily on a large variety of reading materials and others more hands-on involvement.  Almost any homeschool parent may start with one style and then find a combination of styles that fits their life and family best. We currently are a family of one military parent, one house parent, and two children - preschool and elementary age.  While we are home, we tend to use a few worksheets, several on-line options like ABCmouse and Khan...