Passport Around the World

Homeschool at the Thornton Home Education Academy of Higher Learning began today for the 2015-2016 school year. What excitement filled my home as my little ones began to burst with anticipation early this morning. Part of the excitement was simply due to the back to school treats they receive each year. They were also eager to see the big reveal of what awaited them behind the door to our homeschool room. There were small changes to the room, nothing major. I simply removed last year's posters and other wall decorations and material and replaced them with new ones relevant to what we are going to study. I can certainly understand their anticipation. I am the same way when I purchase new bedding or change the table setting to match the holidays and seasons. 

Our theme this year is "Around the World in 180 Days: Discover. Learn. Explore." My homeschool planner is one of my favorite tools. So, naturally I had to add the theme to the cover of my spiral bound planner.

I downloaded a printable suitcase, printed it on card stock and folded it up according to the directions. I then filled it with some of the necessities for our trip around the world. It was filled with new markers, crayons, highlighters, colored pencils and of course passports and an airline ticket to our first stop. Believe it or not, I heard "oohs" and "ahhs" from each of my children! I found the suitcase at http://amanditadesigns.blogspot.com/2012/04/last-night-of-travel-themed-girls-night.html. They printed very nicely and didn't seem to eat up all my ink. Bonus! As you can see form the photo, it can hold quite a bit. They stayed upright all day and never fell over once. The airline tickets have each child's name, the date, and both arriving and departing locations. I squealed with delight when it printed with our first destination, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Our day began with a bible lesson. I did not do this as much as my heart desired last year. It's sad to say but I felt like we had to get more of the academics done. So, our bible lessons and morning devotions began to fade and soon we weren't doing them at all. However, this year reading and studying God's Word will be a priority for me in my homeschool. After all, isn't that the reason so many of us decide to homeschool? It's definitely one of our main reasons. I found a website at http://www.heavensinspirations.com/childrens-devotionals.html that offers some devotions. They seem to be limited in number. So, I'm on the look out for another FREE website to use. 

We did some light work for the first day. A writing assignment describing what country they would like to visit. We did our spelling and vocabulary from our faithful ABeka books. They watched an interesting DVD from public library about Making & Reading Maps. But here was the BEST part of the school day...I gave them an Atlas Scavenger Hunt. It was a hit! From the 4th grader to both 7th graders it was challenging and FUN. It wasn't until the final three where they even needed my help. This activity was so engaging I didn't want to pull them away for lunch...so I didn't. This is a must-do for a geography lesson or map reading lesson. Check it out at http://educationpossible.com/geography-activities-atlas-scavenger-hunt/. Here's a picture of them using our huge Costco world map to look for locations and answers. A few of the hints did require the use of an actual atlas. So, our Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World Geography Atlas took care of any issues.

I would love to hear of any ideas you may have for our journey. Please feel free to post links to websites too.

Happy Homeschooling!