H4RL Teaching Podcast

15 Student-centered Strategies to Help Your Child Focus

We've all been there, right? You think your child is completing their work. You sat with them and they know what they're supposed to do and how to do it. You walk away to check on their sibling or clean the bathroom, and you come back to check their work. And they're in the same place they were before. What?!?! What have you been doing? Well, honestly, they're not really sure. They were distracted. It happens to the best of us, and it can make the homeschool portion of our day take longer than we'd like. It's no fun when the work drags on, and even the best lessons and assignments start to feel like drudgery when we get stuck in them. Here are fifteen ways that you can help your child focus so they can get the most out of their work and finish it in less time.

You can listen to today’s episode on Spreaker by searching for “Homeschool 4 Real Life Podcast”.

It’s also available on YouTube, or you can watch it in the embedded player below.

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H4RL Teaching Podcast

Poetry in the Primary Grades

Poetry is a fun and easy way to teach reading in the primary grades! In just a few minutes a day, your child can build important literacy skills. In this podcast, Jill talks about why poetry is so important to include in your kindergarten, first grade, and second grade literacy instruction. You'll also find out what to do when you introduce a poem to your child and how you can make the most of it as a teaching tool. If you're wondering how to teach reading or looking for easy ways to help your child become a better reader, check out this podcast to find out what a powerful tool poetry can be for young children.

You can listen to this episode using the player above or on Spreaker by searching for “Homeschool 4 Real Life Podcast.``

It’s also available on YouTube!

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Learn more about how you can get over 30 poems with teaching guides for kindergarten, first, and second grade!

H4RL Teaching Podcast

10 Teaching Tips to Help Your Child Focus

It isn't always easy for our children to focus on their schoolwork, but there are things that we can do as we plan our lessons that help increase focus. When our kids are not engaged in their work, not giving it their full attention, not thinking about the tasks they're doing and the concepts they're encountering, they're not really learning much. Our minds have to be engaged in order to process and retain information. Increasing your kids' focus during educational activities means your homeschool time will be more effective and your children will learn more! Let's look at 10 ways to help kids focus that you as a homeschool teacher can keep in mind as you plan and implement your lessons.

You can listen to today’s episode on Soundcloud by searching for “H4RL Podcast”.

It’s also available on YouTube, or you can watch it in the embedded player below.

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H4RL Teaching Podcast

Fun Activities for Summer Learning - Science

In this podcast, Jill shares ten fun science activities you can do with your child this summer. This is the third episode in our summer learning series, full of ideas to keep your kids thinking while enjoying the warm summer days. Most of these science activities use simple materials, many of them get your kids outside, some of them keep them active, and all of them will keep your kids thinking and learning this summer. Have fun investigating the world around you!

You can listen to today’s episode on Spreaker by searching for “Homeschool 4 Real Life Podcast”.

It’s also available on YouTube, or you can watch it in the embedded player below.

If you like the content and find value in it, please give us a thumbs up and hit subscribe so you can be notified when we release new podcasts.

Free materials & additional info.

H4RL Teaching Podcast

Fun Activities for Summer Learning - Math

H4RL Teaching Podcast

Fun Activities for Summer Learning - Reading and Writing

In this H4RL teaching podcast, Jill talks about some fun ways to keep your kids learning during the summer. You'll find ten ideas for engaging your children in reading and writing activities. At the bottom of this podcast page, you'll find links to files for two of the activities mentioned. Make sure to watch for our next two podcasts, because those will have fun ideas for math and science. If you join us for all three podcasts, you'll have 30 ideas for fun summer learning activities (plus three bonus ideas)!

You can listen to today’s episode on Spreaker by searching for “Homeschool 4 Real Life Podcast”.

It’s also available on YouTube, or you can watch it in the embedded player below.

If you like the content and find value in it, please give us a thumbs up and hit subscribe so you can be notified when we release new podcasts.

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H4RL Teaching Podcast

Teaching with Games - Using Jenga to Teach Math Facts

In this very short podcast episode, Jill shares ideas for how to use a Jenga game to practice math in four ways! Whether your child needs to work on adding numbers up to 6+6, adding numbers up to 12+12, multiplication facts, or equivalent fractions, you can use this fun game for practice. It's an engaging way to memorize and practice math facts. In the free pdf (just click the image link below the podcast in the ``Free materials & additional info`` section), you'll find directions for all four different versions of the game as well as number charts to use as a helpful reference when you play. With these simple ideas, you will be able to take an old game and turn it into a learning tool. Everybody loves free math games, right?!

You can listen to this episode on Spreaker by searching for “Homeschool 4 Real Life Podcast”.

It’s also available on YouTube, or you can watch it in the embedded player below.

If you like the content and find value in it, please give us a thumbs up and hit subscribe so you can be notified when we release new podcasts.

Free materials & additional info.

H4RL Teaching Podcast

Teaching with Games - Using Continent Race to Teach Geography to Young Students

In this episode of the Homeschool 4 Real Life (H4RL) Teaching Podcast, Jill reviews Continent Race, a world geography game invented by a kid! It's a great educational game for homeschoolers. First I'll tell you about the regular method of play. Then, I'll share some alternate rules to adapt the game for older and younger players. Finally, I'll show you a completely different way to play that we came up with - it's really fun!

This game made me realize just how many countries there are in the world, and how many of them I didn't know about! As they play this educational game, your child will become familiar with the names of countries and the continents they're on as well as each country's flag. Depending upon what you choose to emphasize as you play, they can also learn the location of each country on a map and the name of the country's capitol. This is a great game for teaching world geography and can be adapted for different levels of play. Check out the video to see the game and find out how to play!

You can listen to this episode on Spreaker by searching for “Homeschool 4 Real Life Podcast”.

It’s also available on YouTube, or you can watch it in the embedded player below.

If you like the content and find value in it, please give us a thumbs up and hit subscribe so you can be notified when we release new podcasts.

H4RL Teaching Podcast

Teaching Myth - You Don't Have to Read The Whole Book

In today's Homeschool 4 Real Life (H4RL) Teaching Podcast, Jill debunks the myth that you always have to read the entire book in order to do a ``good job`` reading with your child. She shows examples of how to use books, especially non-fiction, as tools to engage your child's interest and promote a love of learning. Books empower you to open a fascinating world of wonder and imagination to your children. When you enjoy books together, your kids won't be able to resist the temptation to read more and more! If you feel like you have to slog through every word of every book to the very end in order to say, ``yes, we read a book today,`` you're likely to have to lasso your kids as they race out the door when they see you coming with a book in hand. Let's talk about how to read with your children in ways that your whole family will enjoy!

You can listen to this episode on Spreaker by searching for “Homeschool 4 Real Life Podcast”.

It’s also available on YouTube, or you can watch it in the embedded player below.

If you like the content and find value in it, please give us a thumbs up and hit subscribe so you can be notified when we release new podcasts.