Our 4th Annual (and sometimes not so annual) Homeschool Day

Each year a few families in our church plus one other family that drives 3 hours, get together to plan a Homeschool Day.  We pick/vote on a topic for our day and the kids choose a sub-topic that’s pertinent.  They then prepare speeches, poster boards and/or backdrops. 

On our homeschool day, besides all the speeches, we have activities for the kids to do (just a few).  We prepare little booklets with questions and the kids answer them by reading the posters or listening carefully to the speeches.  We invite all kinds of people to come hear the kids so it gives them some real incentive to do a good job.

We started this as a way to give the children experience in preparing speeches and public speaking.  Kids need to learn to make eye contact, have volume, articulation and be expressive.  Some of the kids that come are still needing practice on this but I think I see improvement each year.

The kids have really enjoyed it.  I can’t say my boys just love preparing their speeches but it has been good for them.  They have learned to research their subject and and condense their learning’s to a 5 minute speech.

We also encourage creativity in their presentations.  However they want to present the information is up to them.  One year our topic was "Under the Sea".  My son chose to learn about scuba diving.  To get a costume we went to a local scuba diving store where they loaned him the use of an outfit at no cost. 

On the day of the speeches he stayed underneath a sheet frying, with sweat pouring off his face while wearing a 50lb. tank on his back until it was his time to speak and then "came up out of the water" amidst bubbles (this can be achieved by having people hidden with a bottle of bubbles) 

He also did a science experiment with an egg and a jar.  You light a match in the jar and place a peeled, hard boiled egg on the opening of the jar and it gets sucked down as the match uses up all the oxygen.  This represented the pressure on our lungs when we go diving.

This Saturday we’re putting on our 4th Homeschool Day.  The topic this year is Inventions.  We have quite a host of people coming to listen.

Our invitation read:

Presenting

"A Rainbow of Inventions"

…a variety of color to show the variety of ideas and creations.

You are invited to join us

as each student will present a time in history

 when an inventor was inspired and an invention was born!

This event will be held at:

The (our last name) Research Center

On:

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Starting at 1:00 p.m.

Supper will be served in the evening.

Come Join the Fun!!!

We’re all quite excited and busy planning last minute details.  Next week I’ll try to post some photos of our ‘big day’.  So be sure to check back.

Copyright 2008 Treasuring the Moments