Five-Minute Mind Sparks are calendar-based ideas for opening learning doors.
Our job is to provide experience, opportunity, and structure. This framework helps kids identify passions and interests to drive their own learning.
Five-Minute Mind Sparks are ways to broaden the range of things that we think about on a day-to-day basis and offer the OPPORTUNITY for new EXPERIENCE. The calendar provides some mild STRUCTURE. 🙂
Offer the calendar to your reading learners or read it together for a daily dose of fun and inspiration. Teens will find ideas to engage themselves and make it their own.
Sign up here to get a new calendar every month, filled with quick and sparky ideas specifically chosen for each day.
Favorite High-Interest Resources
Every month I share a few resources that are great for learner-led homeschoolers. Here are this month’s picks.
Google Earth’s game Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego
This takes a minute to load, so don’t click away too fast. All my kids loved playing this new game where you chase a villain based on geographical clues. Reminiscent of the game we had in the 90s.
iNaturalist
If you have nature-loving learners, be sure to check out iNaturalist. Anyone can make an account and upload images of flora and fauna they find in the neighborhood to contribute to real science. Keep track of the birds or trees and share with others!
Animal Doctors book
This non-fiction picture book was a random pick-up at the library for us but I’m fascinated. It’s all about the ways animals heal themselves and take care of their bodies. It’s well laid-out for perusal reading and provides excellent material for those learners who just can’t help but share cool facts.
Ideas and Hints for Homeschooling
I decided back in October that this would probably be the Longest Winter on record. Not for the meteorological duration of the cold weather, but for comprehensive feelings of isolation and cooped-upedness accompanied by all the darkness of soul. So!
Having some intriguing and fun activities schemed up and tucked away for ’emergencies’ has been great so far. This takes the form of: A. Things to look forward to and B. New activities.
When the winter/pandemic ennui is strong, we can plan something or I can bust a puzzle or game out of my secret closet.
Here are a few things we’ve used so far:
A. Things to look forward to
- Play Bake Off: We divide the family into two teams, bake something in a time frame, and then deliver samples to a neighbor for judging! A couple small cookie trays is very useful for everyone sharing the same oven.
- Family Parties: for any reason we come up with. Anything is worth celebrating! Homemade pizza, dance music, ice cream sundae bar, games, popcorn, and a freedom of spirit!
B. New Activities
Bear Down game
This is a fun game where you are bears fishing on a waterfall. Roll the dice to see how many fish jump up and if any bears or fish fall down. An innovative board design combined with easy-to-learn rules make fun for everyone, especially the 4-8 set. This easy change makes it a cooperative game: Just say “we’re all fishing for x number of fishes for our bear picnic.” I learned about this game from the awesome Labyrinth Personal Shopper service from a local games shop. They introduced me to so many cool games! We’ve been trying to buy local after spending too much last year on you-know-where. Maybe a few extra dollars, but well worth it.
3D Wrebbit puzzle
Big family projects have helped our family be close and feel good about who we are as a group. Things that take time can have moments of drudge, but when we push through, we sure feel good about ourselves. For older families, or those who just love a puzzle, this is a great winter project. There are many Harry Potter ones, cathedrals, landmarks, etc. It does take a bit of doing to get going. You need someone who is passionate about it or spatially-minded to make it less of a chore in the beginning. Also, download the online directions, not just the ones in the box. They’re far more comprehensive and useful. Once it’s going, it’s a blast to all work on different bits and see it come together over a period of weekends.
p.s. I do not get paid to review these things, nor do I get any money if you buy them. I don’t even know how to make that work! Ha. Someday, maybe I’ll make a few cents off your clicking, but for now, in the interest of full disclosure, I do this only because sharing is fun and I want you to feel that being on my mailing list or on my website it worth your time. Cheers!
