Book Club: Make Way for Ducklings

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One of the books that has been included in several of our homeschooling curricula has been Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. While using StoryTime Treasures from Memoria Press, we read through the book with our son. Then, we had the pleasure of reading Make Way for Ducklings again with God's Creation from A to Z from My Father's World with our daughter. After reading the book multiple times, I decided we should make a cute craft to go along with it, too.

When you let the kids play with googly eyes, you see what happens. 

The Story 

Make Way for Ducklings takes readers on a journey with Mr. and Mrs. Mallard as they plan where they are going to live and start a family of their own. The book offers many opportunities for children to practice their reading and rhyming as they learn the names of the ducklings – Jack, Kack, Lack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack. Parents can also discuss the importance of following traffic rules when crossing the street.

What About Ducks? 

Ducks are very interesting birds to study. We are fortunate that there are several lakes within a short driving distance that we can visit to see them in person. In the past, I have worked with ducks while working in education at a city zoo.

• Ducks live in both fresh water and salt water 
• Male ducks are called drakes, female ducks are called hens, and baby ducks are ducklings 
• Depending on what types of food a duck eats, they may have to dive deeper into the water 
• Ducks have been domesticated and kept on farms or as pets for more than 500 years 
• Ducks are raised for their eggs, meat, and feathers 
• Ducks' feathers have a waterproof quality to them – hence the saying, "Let it roll off you, like water off a ducks' back."
• In many species of ducks, the males and females have different feather colors and patterns

Materials 

• Blue, yellow, orange, white, and black construction paper 
• Glue sticks and white glue 
• Googly eyes (optional) 
• Scissors 
• Feathers (optional) 

Steps

1. Gather all of your materials. 

2. Lay out all of the materials onto the blue construction paper (you will only need have a sheet of construction).

3. Glue the body of the duck onto the blue construction paper.  

4. Glue on the head of the duck onto the blue construction paper. 

5. Glue on the eyes. You can use googly eyes if you or your children wish.

6. Glue on the beak and add the nostril. 

7. If you are adding feathers, you can add them for the wings or tail.

If you have any favorite duck-themed crafts or children's books, please share in the comments! 

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Math Sprint – The Mental Math Game

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way.

We love playing games in our house, and those games that also help our children with their homeschooling and education have a special place on our shelves. If you are looking for a fun and educational way for your children to review their math skills, then you should definitely check out the latest game from Byron's Games. Math Sprint – The Mental Math Game has been a welcome addition to our game-schooling time as everyone in our family joins in to answer questions on one of the over 250 cards. 

Reviewing Math Sprint from Byron's Games has been so much fun with our children. Several nights, after dinner, we brought out the game to test our addition and subtraction skills. There are multiplication and division questions and word problems, but we used only those cards with addition and subtraction as we have a kindergartner, second-grader, and senior. If our children were older, we would have used all the cards provided. 

Recommend for ages 7+ --- 2 to 8 players --- 30 minutes of gameplay 

And Just What Do You Get in Your Bright Blue Box? 

• Instructions 
• One running track board (for gameplay) 
• 258 Cards: These are divided into the following categories  
• 92 addition and subtraction cards 
• 106 multiplication and division cards 
• 30 wild cards 
• 30 challenge cards 
• 10 dry erase cards (so you can make up your own questions) 
• One dry erase marker 
• 8 Runner playing pieces in 8 different colors (there are character names and pictures on the instruction sheet) 

How Do You Play Math Sprint? 

Math Spring allows you to be very flexible in game play based upon the ages and levels of the children playing the game. The objective of the game is to get to the finish line by answering the mental math questions correctly. You can include both the addition/subtraction cards and the multiplication/division cards or just one stack. (We only included the addition/subtraction cards. We did not use all of the wild cards and used none of the challenge cards when we played.) 

After you pick your playing piece – do you want to be Crystal Reaction, Bootstrap Byron, or one of the other characters – you put your runner in one of the lanes on the track labeled 1 to 8. There are three different lengths of gameplay available to you and your homeschooled children. You can run a 100m, 200m, or 400m game. The longer distances are better for advanced players or for after you have played Math Sprint several times. 

The first time we played, I misread the rules, and we only moved the runner forward one space after answering a question correctly. We fixed that error the next time we played, which made the game faster and more enjoyable for our five-year-old daughter. We liked the wild cards that allowed our runners to move forward additional spaces without having to answer mathematics questions.  

Each time we have played the game, we only raced the 100m dash, but both our younger children enjoy doing the ten jumping jacks as they get to the half-way point on the track. If we were playing the 200m dash, they would have five hops and ten arm circles to incorporate into the game. And if we were to play the 400m dash, the game incorporates balancing on one leg for five seconds, jogging in place for fifteen seconds, and ten torso twists. So even though children are not really running around a track, they are still getting their exercise!

 

How Did We Use Math Sprint in Our Homeschool? 

We played the game after dinner time so that everyone – my husband, our homeschooled high school senior, our seven-year-old son, our five-year-old daughter, and myself – could play. Our family enjoyed that the "Coach" got to choose who would answer the question – everyone or just two runners. We quickly learned that our youngest son liked to try to have everyone even in the race. 

As our younger children get older, I can easily see us allowing them to play Math Sprint during our homeschool day to refresh their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills. I think being able to answer these simple math questions quickly is important to their success in more difficult levels of mathematics.

What Do We Think? 

I really like the quality of the game board and the cards. I can foresee them lasting through lots of gameplay with our homeschooling family. Math Sprint – The Mental Math Game is the perfect addition to our collection of educational and fun games for family game night. I also appreciate the fact that while there is a competition aspect to the game, it also allows children to work on individual skills to improve their mental math skills. 

Our seven-year-old son said that, while you are playing the game, if you don't know the answer to a question, you can learn it when one of your fellow gamers answers it correctly. So, you are learning even if you don't get to move your runner forward in the game. His favorite cards are the wild cards such as "you got distracted thinking about a new video game. Go back 1 space."

My husband said that he enjoyed having another reason for the family to gather and have fun at the table, all the while helping the littler ones learn. While parents can easily beat children in the game, it was fun to "lay off" and let the children "steal" answers and gain confidence in mathematics.

As I really like the concept of answering questions as your player moves around the racetrack, I would love to see Byron's Games introduce add-ons to Math Sprint. They could develop card packs with questions about language arts, social studies, history, science, and more. I think our family would definitely purchase additional card decks if it meant we could gameschool on more evenings together!

I think Math Sprint – The Mental Math Game would make a wonderful addition to your gaming shelves. It is both fun and educational. The gameplay is very easy to adapt to the level of your children as you can play a longer game as well as add in additional questions. 

Do You Want to Learn More? 

We had the privilege of reviewing another game from Byron's Games earlier in the year (March 2020) - Continent Race. We had so much fun with this game, too! 

Website – Facebook – Instagram 

Don't forget to read how other members of the Homeschool Review Crew played Math Sprint – The Mental Math Game in their homeschool! 

Book Club: Children's Autumn-Themed Books

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A short while ago, I shared some of our favorite Halloween-themed books. What if you don't celebrate Halloween? There are still plenty of great books that you can read during the months of Autumn with your children. I did a quick search of our library's collection and discovered more than we would be able to check out at one time! How exciting to have new books to read in our homeschool. 

What New Autumn-Themed Books Did We Pick Up At the Library? 

Counting on Fall by Lizann Flatt and illustrated by Ashley Barron 

This is one book in the Math in Nature series (we will need to check out the other three) where children work on their understanding of basic math concepts (like counting) while reading about different things that take place during the Fall. There are twelve different scenes that depict the following: deciduous trees, eastern gray squirrels, milkweed pods, humpback whales, Canada geese, pronghorn antelopes, raccoons, monarch butterflies, little brown bats, pikas, black bears, and grackles. In addition to the text about the images, there are questions that ask your children to interpret the images by counting and doing simple addition and subtraction. At the end of the story, you can read more about the animals and plants shared in the book. 

Personally, I really liked reading this book with our two children. I loved the 'what if' questions (that they both could take turns answering) as well as the beautiful cut-paper collage illustrations provided to accompany the easy-to-read text.  I can easily see this being a wonderful addition to your homeschooling bookshelves.

Pick a Circle, Gather Squares: A Fall Harvest of Shapes by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky and illustrated by Susan Swan 

When I picked out this book from the list of autumn-themed books our library had listed, I was not sure what to expect. I thought it might be a little too young for our kindergartner and second-grader to enjoy but I was wrong. Our second-grader and I sat together while I read it aloud and he went through and picked out all the shapes in the illustrations. 

For your preschooler, you can easily incorporate Pick a Circle, Gather Squares into your homeschool day. It would a perfect starting point for a day of searching for shapes either at a pumpkin patch or around the house. If we had a lot of pumpkins to carve, I could see us using the book as inspiration for choosing out different jack-o-lantern shapes. 

Footballs and Falling Leaves: A Fall Counting Book by Rebecca Fjelland Davis 

Like many counting books, this Autumn-themed one focuses upon the numbers one through ten for your preschooler or kindergartner. The bright colorful pictures open up discussions of bears hibernating for the winter, farming equipment like combines, how corn is used to feed farm animals, and more. At the end of the book, there is reinforcement for your child to practice counting again. There are also two pages of facts about fall, which are a nice addition to help you and your child explore more together. 

Hooray for Fall! by Kazuo Iwamura 

In Hooray for Fall!, we meet Mick, Mack, and Molly as their squirrel parents prepare for the Fall. Mama squirrel knitted her children three matching red sweaters as they explore outside, Mick, Mack, and Molly discover so many things are red like their sweaters. There are red mushrooms, red berries, red leaves, and even a red sky. 

To accompany the reading of Hooray for Fall!, you could spend some time reading about bears and create a bear craft or make a nature-themed work of art (N is for Nature). Or perhaps a walk at sunset would be a nice way to end your homeschool day? 

Fall by Moira Butterfield 

Finally, I want to share an Autumn-themed book that will explain the season of Fall to your kindergartner or first-grader. In Fall, you and your children will read about how the sun's journey helps impact the seasons on Earth. There are also great discussions about Fall weather, farm life during Autumn, how animals adapt and migrate during the Fall, and some of the stories associated with Fall. 

And if you are in search of some Autumn-themed learning ideas, this book has some ideas for you! There are painting suggestions, nature-themed puppets, and some simple science experiments. Your child can also find definitions of such important words as chlorophyll, migration, and thermometer in the Words to Remember section. 

Does your family have any favorite Autumn-themed children's books? Perhaps there are a few board books that always seem to find their way into your Fall Morning Basket? 

Looking for more children's books? If you are in search of Halloween-themed children's books, check out my Book Club post. Or perhaps you are studying the early presidents of the United States? Why not learn more about George Washington? 

Crafts: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You Look Like?

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Our children love creating crafts – especially if they are centered around animals! So this month, I decided we should make a brown bear craft inspired by Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Our youngest son was gifted a copy of the book when he was quite little, and we have been enjoying this classic story ever since.

While I designed the craft, I did a little bit of research so I could share some Brown Bear facts with our children. What do they look like? Where do they live? What types of food do they enjoy eating? 

Brown Bear Facts 

• They are omnivorous mammals living in forest habitats and mountains 
• Brown Bears can weigh up to 1,500 pounds 
• They are often solitary except for gathering along salmon-spawning streams and other areas where they go for food 
• They often give birth to twins, but litters can have 1 to 4 cubs 
• There are many subspecies of Brown Bears, including ones known as Kodiak and Grizzly 
• They have short, thick legs 
• Brown Bears can hibernate for four to six months in their den during the winter months 
• They live up to 25 years in the wild and 40 years in captivity 

Materials 

• Brown construction paper 
• Glue sticks 
• Scissors 
• Construction paper for the background (I let our children choose what colors they wanted to use) 
• Googly eyes

Steps 

1. Gather your materials. I sketched the shapes needed for the Brown Bear before we made the craft. 

2. Lay all the pieces onto the construction paper chosen for the background. Glue them on the construction paper one by one. 

3. Glue on the legs for the bear. The bear is in profile. 

4. Glue on the body, head, and ear of the bear. 

5. Glue on the snout of the bear and then a googly eye for your bear. 

6. Design the background. Draw a cave, a stream, or the night sky. 

Do Your Children Want to Learn More about Animals? 

SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers many interesting and educational opportunities to learn about animals. One such course is God's Beautiful Creatures, which will introduce your young homeschooling child to 120 different animals using eBooks and activities to help them learn about backyard animals, colorful animals, desert animals, furry animals, and more! 

You can even incorporate art into your studying of bears with Learning About Art offered by SchoolhouseTeachers.com. In a previous post, I shared our experiences with the course when our children were younger. Over the course of ten lessons your young homeschooling children will be introduced to artists, letters, animals, drawing techniques, and more! 

If you are homeschooling children in third-fourth grades, you might find A World of Animals science course at SchoolhouseTeachers.com to be a useful one. In this text-based course, your children will learn about different species of dogs, owls, hamsters, and grizzlies!

Book Club: Halloween Books

 

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Our family has a tradition of buying books as gifts for the holidays. When I was little, I received many books for various holidays like Easter, Christmas, Halloween, and Valentine's Day. Some of these books were ones that fit the holiday theme, while others were just books that the gift giver thought was cute and wanted to share with me. We have continued this tradition with our own children over the years and have quite a collection of holiday-themed books. 

What are some of our favorite Halloween-themed books? 

EEK! Halloween by Sandra Boynton 

This is an adorable board book perfect for young readers. The chickens are all very nervous as they come across different animals dressed up in costumes. They do not understand what is going on until they find out it is Halloween. 

It's Pumpkin Day, House! by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond 

We love the little mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and the other books in the series. So, this is a fantastic board book in our house during the month of October. Mouse has seven pumpkins he can decorate for Pumpkin Day and proceeds to paint them with different emotions like happy and sad. 

This board book is the perfect tie-in with a visit to a pumpkin patch. Children can count pumpkins they see in the pumpkin patch and look for ones that are similar in shape and size to those in the book. They can also decide if they want to paint their own pumpkin like the one in the story. 

Dracula - A Counting Primer by Jennifer Adams with art by Alison Oliver 

This adorable BabyLit® book is the perfect board book to introduce your little one to numbers and a classic story. The drawings in the book of wolves, tombstones, rats, coffins, and letters are in grays, black, red, and white and help create a Halloween-feel. While reading the book, you can explain as much or as little of the plot as you wish. Dracula does not actually appear in the story except on the cover. 

Happy Halloween, Biscuit! by Alyssa Satin Capucilli with pictures by Pat Schories 

Do your children like the series of books about the cute puppy, Biscuit? This tale might be the perfect one to read this October as Biscuit learns all about events that are taking place prior to Halloween. There is a visit to a pumpkin patch, the creation of a jack-o-lantern, dressing in Halloween costumes, and trick-or-treating. This Biscuit book features flaps to life to find out what happens next in the story. 

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schultz 

What Halloween book collection would be complete without the Great Pumpkin? This classic children's story and cartoon are perfect. Through it, we see Linus persevering as he waits for the Great Pumpkin - even if no one but Linus believes that he exists. I also love the fact that with older children, one can also discuss the adventures that Snoopy undergoes fighting the Red Baron. (I love any connection I can make to history!) 

Does your family read holiday-themed books? Do you have any favorite Halloween-themed ones that shine in your collection? 

Teaching History During a School Break

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No matter how you approach schooling or homeschooling, you might decide that you want to continue studying one or more subject areas during a school break. Perhaps you feel the need to continue with your lessons over a homeschool break because your kids really love learning. Maybe the learning needs to continue to catch up on certain subjects or plans. Whatever your reason, teaching history during a school break can be quite easy and fun. 

Over the Summer 

The most obvious break in school routine – whether you homeschool or not – is summer break. Many homeschooling families take breaks during the summer so that their children will have a similar time off as their friends who attend public or private schools. For many, they also want to be able to spend the time outdoors – perhaps working on the farm or homestead – or visiting nearby sites and attractions. Of course, some homeschooling families school during the summer and take breaks at other times of the year because the summer is too hot to be outdoors.

Visit Places of Historic Interest

What is the easiest way to continue with your history studies during a summer break? Field trips! When you plan a vacation, see if there is some way to incorporate a visit to a historical site. In some locations, it might be a lot easier to plan these side-trips (if visiting historical sites is not the focus of your vacation). For example, when visiting Charleston, SC, it was very easy for my husband and me to visit numerous historical sites, including Fort Sumter, Boone Hall, etc. The town is rich in history from the pre-Colonial era to modern-day history. But what about if you are visiting a beach town or a resort? Well, maybe the history might not be so obvious, but most towns have historical markers, and some even have historical societies that will open their doors for research. If it is a rainy day, why not see if there are any museums or historical societies you can visit for an afternoon? 

Holiday & Seasonal Celebrations 

One of the ways to easily incorporate history during the various holiday and seasonal celebrations is to study the history behind each holiday. There are many places you can go to for resources, including one of my favorites – SchoolhouseTeachers.com. You can see all of their offerings for Seasonal Resources and find just what you need to plan in advance – or if you are like me – find things for the holiday the day before.

You can find Adventures with Books where the lesson designers have listed books on themes like Pumpkins and provided activities to do in conjunction with the reading of those books, lessons to teach art with a holiday theme, or even Everyday Games with seasonal themes. We downloaded quite a few of the Fall ones to complete with our children. 

Use Resources Available to Teach about the Holidays

Another great part of having a membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com is their Christmas Corner. I am able to share a great number of Christmas-themed programs with our children. For example, last year we watched The Candy Maker's Christmas, which tells the tale of candy canes. There is a worksheet that accompanies the video we could fill out if wanted to and there are other lessons on SchoolhouseTeachers.com about candy canes, too. We can spend the entire month of December using resources from SchoolhouseTeachers.com that help us study the history of Christmas. 

My Teaching Library also offers great seasonal resources, and while these may not focus upon the history of the seasons or holidays, you can easily find worksheets, lapbooks, and notebooking pages that you can use supplement your homeschool lessons. I like that there are notebooking pages that let the children write down what they are learning and experiencing during the holiday season. 

Within these downloadable packets were several pages
that focused upon the holidays during the month of October. 

Go to the Movies 

Whether you visit a real movie theater or just watch movies at home, you can spend time during your homeschooling break watching documentaries or movies based upon real events. There are so many to choose from that you can probably find a movie for almost every area of history you might be studying in your homeschool. 

One of my favorite things to do with historical movies is to spend time comparing and contrasting the real events with those depicted in the movie. You can very easily watch the movie (or movies) during your break and then incorporate the lessons during your normal homeschooling schedule. For example, watch one or more movies about Queen Elizabeth and then read her speeches, read the works of her contemporaries, and compare them to the events depicted on the silver screen. 

Other Posts You Might Enjoy 

Master of Macabre: Edgar Allan Poe and the Silver Screen

Engaging History: Bringing History to Life Series 

Engaging History: Renaissance 

Engaging History: Colonial and Revolutionary War Era America

Engaging History: Middle Ages

Engaging History: Modern America

Engaging History: American Civil War

Book Club: Book Review of 16 Bible Studies for Your Small Group

I received a FREE copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

I always enjoy reading and reviewing books that help bring me closer to God and gain a better understanding of the Bible. I have previously reviewed Small Groups Made Easy by Ryan Lokkesmoe, so I was excited to read and review 16 Bible Studies for Your Small Group. 

The 157-page paperback contains 

• An introduction and conclusion 
• 16 individual studies with a focus on fellowship and spends most of the time looking at the New Testament 
• Icebreaker questions
• Study questions 
• Key ideas presented in bullet points 
• Prayer prompts 

Even though 16 Bible Studies for Your Small Group is written for small groups, it can be adapted for your own individual use. I found myself reflecting upon some of the questions while Bible Journaling. It is always good to find new ways to reflect upon Scripture. 

Each chapter offers 3 parts – social, study, and prayer – to help you focus upon that particular topic. Within each topic, there are specific suggestions, such as how to view the relationship between humility and hospitality through Ephesians, Romans, and 1 Peter. There are numerous Bible quotes and questions to help direct your group or personal study. 

"Christians are meant to experience camaraderie with each other as members of the body of Christ" (131).

I would recommend 16 Bible Studies for Your Small Group by Ryan Lokkesmoe. From the chapter called "Givers of Courage" (where Lokkesmoe examines the etymology of the English word encourage and how we can remind others of the truth found in the Bible) to "Fellow Citizens and Soldiers" (where we are reminded that through the work of Jesus on the cross we "are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens"), we read much wisdom. 

I think that the goal of the book – being a "collection of short Bible studies designed to lead you through a meaningful engagement with God's word" – is accomplished (8). If you are a leader in a church, or you are looking for Bible studies for yourself, 16 Bible Studies for Your Small Group might be a perfect fit for your bookshelves. 

Book Club: Book Review of The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus

I received a FREE copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

I have enjoyed reading books by Jaime Jo Wright since I first reviewed The Curse of Misty Wayfair in January of 2019 courtesy of Bethany House. I think I have since then read all her works that were available to me through our library or through review. I was eagerly awaiting the release of The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus to read and review. Once again, Jaime Jo Wright did not disappoint. From the opening chapter set in 1928 to the closing chapter that ended in happiness in the present day and 1928, I find the story to be very intriguing –  and not to sound like a cliché – a page-turner.

I will admit to having a few concerns because the main character, Chandler, in the present-day Bluff River, Wisconsin, is a single mom who refuses to seek any help or assistance even though she suffers from a serious illness. And then there is Lottie, who provides ghost tours and talks about her ability to communicate with spirits. And there is the life of some of the circus performers who were sinful. I do feel, in general, Jaime Jo Wright resolved all the issues I had with the various characters and plot points. After all, Chandler comes to realize she needs not only her parents and her good friend but also God to help her through her life and raise her son. And Pippa, the main character in 1928, finds a resolution to her own dilemma as to who her parents were within the circus. She is able to work through mysteries and find peace with the entire situation.

As a former employee of a zoo, I really enjoyed the parts where Pippa was assisting in the care of the newborn elephant, Lily. While her appearance at the circus may have been because of a dangerous figure – the Watchman – she was destined to be there to help take care of another misfit - an animal that was both wanted and unwanted like Pippa herself.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS 

I do want to warn you that there is discussion of a serial killer, drinking to excess, physical abuse, accusations of animal abuse, and the kidnapping of Chandler's young son. The only part that really upset me was when Peter, Chandler's son, was kidnapped. Apparently the kidnapping of children is one of my top fears. 

END OF POTENTIAL SPOILERS 

I would recommend The Haunting of Bonaventure Circus to those who enjoy mysteries, detective-like stories, historical fiction (this book is set in the past and present), and Christian fiction. Once you start reading The Haunting of Bonaventure Circus, you may not want to put it down. I really wanted to know what was going to happen next, so I finished about the last 100 pages in one evening.  Like the other books I have read by Wright, I would love for her to write a sequel because I enjoyed reading about the characters so much.

Homeschooling and Grading

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Many parents new to homeschooling question how to one-grade homeschool assignments, keep track of those grades, issue report cards, and/or issue transcripts if they are graduating a homeschool student. The first thing any homeschool parent should do if they have questions about homeschool and grading is research what the requirements are for their state or country. Some locations require you to maintain more detailed records, while others may request a portfolio examination once a year.

Research the laws that apply to what grades you need to keep in your homeschool. 

What Age Is Your Child? 

After you discover just how detailed you need to be in grading and record-keeping for your homeschool, think about the age of your child and what grade they are in this homeschool year. For younger children—unless you are required to by law, you do not need to have detailed grades. If you remember seeing an elementary report card, many of them list the subjects, objectives, or areas of study/growth and then 'grade' using satisfactory, unsatisfactory, needs improvement, or not observed (usually meaning they did not look for that objective during that marking period).

For younger homeschooled children, it is important to mark work for accuracy and go over any wrong answers. But you do not necessarily need to take these 'grades' and input them into a spreadsheet to calculate a grade point average (GPA) or marking period grade. For example, I mark our second grader's math worksheets to check to see if he answered the questions correctly. If he missed one, we go over how to get the correct answer. I may put a stamp or sticker on the page or even write down a letter grade (he has seen his brother's high school grades) but I do not track these grades in an online program or spreadsheet.

For elementary-aged children (and even for middle school-aged children), check for accuracy of assignments to review concepts they do not understand. 

When it comes to high school, it is important to continue to check for accuracy and understanding, but also to grade assignments as you will need to create report cards or transcripts if you are graduating your homeschooled child. There are many different ways to go about doing this. If you are proficient with Excel or another spreadsheet program, you could create a spreadsheet that helps you maintain (and even calculate) grades for each course that your homeschooled high school student takes. For our oldest son, I use Excel to track his grades throughout the year. Each course has one sheet in the document. I then calculate those grades together (weighing quizzes and tests more than 'homework' or 'classwork' assignments). I input these final grades into a system called Applecore that I have access to, thanks to my membership with SchoolhouseTeachers.com. I can then use Applecore to create report cards and a transcript for our son.

For high school-aged children, check for accuracy, but also maintain records of grades to help you produce report cards and a transcript. 

How Do You Grade in Your Homeschool?

As a former high school teacher, I have a system that works for me when it comes to grading a high school student. I assign labels to the work as classwork (things that might be completed with me), homework (assignments that will be completed independently), quizzes (assessments on small pieces of information for the courses), and tests or exams (a large assessment). Research papers or essays might be weighted the same as a quiz or test, depending on how much time was necessary to write it.

Personally, I use a point system rather than a percent system. This makes it easier for me to track information and grades. All graded assignments are worth anywhere from 5 to 200 points. Smaller assignments like classwork or homework would be worth 5 to 45 points, quizzes are worth 50 points, tests are worth 100 points, and projects, exams, or research papers may be worth 100 to 200 points. So, if our son got two questions wrong on a quiz, he would score 40/50 which would be 80%, if you wanted to calculate it that way.

Would You Like to Do More Research into Grading? Check out These Resources and References: 

Read my review of Transcripts Made Easy: The Homeschooler's Guide to High-School Paperwork to see if this resource might help your family during the high school years.

You might find useful information on The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine Resource Guide page. They have resources to help you with many homeschooling decisions.

In the Homeschooling with Heart blog, you can read how to create a transcript in five easy steps. How awesome is that!

And if you are looking for some inspiration regarding grading, read this excellent poem from A Net in Time called Keep Track of Grades.