Dymphna's Song

Growing a Detective

Stephanie — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 12:00:00 +0000

Growing a Detective. You might think that I’d be writing about “growing an artist”. But the facts are that our children aren’t always like us. Sometimes they are born with different strengths and abilities than our own. So how do we encourage them to do something that we ourselves aren’t naturally good at?

I have found the answer to this in giving my child the opportunity to try the things he’s interested in. I don’t know if he will actually become a detective, but if it’s his desire I want to encourage him and help him to succeed at it.

Growing a Detective – Provide Resources-

One thing I always do is try to provide resources for my children’s interests. One fantastic book on this topic is DK Eyewitness Book is Crime and Detection. It gives a fascinating overview of crime through history and the methods used to detect it. The book begins with a historical view of crime and law enforcement and then moves on to the many techniques used to solve crimes. As always with the Eyewitness books, the pictures and captions made it very easy for him to read and enjoy. And the facts and Q&A parts of the book were just fun to read together.

In addition, it offers a timeline. We were even able to add and review a few things for our ancient history timeline last week, such as the early laws for ancient societies- Hamurabbi’s Code (1750 BC) and the Ten Commandments (1200 BC). The glossary of terms in the back was definitely not a list I would normally include in our homeschool. So, it was an excellent addition and really expanded my normal range as a teacher. This is something that is really wonderful resources can always do!

And here’s a terrific resource on over 400 different Careers. It’s excellent and concise and gives you a quick breakdown on industry, hours, training, salary and related fields. This is a book you’ll want to have in your library from the middle school years on up!

Here are a few more great books on detection for kids:

Support the Interest with Experiences and Opportunities-

Another thing we can do is offer experiences. It a great way for a child to see if any line of work is something they really do want to do. Many sheriff and law enforcement offices will give tours to school children. Last year we toured our local police station and it was neat to see how they worked behind the scenes. The kids got to see parts of the jail, dispatch, and also tour some of the cars and vehicles the officers use.

There are also ride along programs for kids that you may not know about. Check with your local police department to see if they run a Police Explorers program for youth ages 14-20. Many offer actual experiences for police training in:

Community Policing
Crime Prevention
Crimes Scene Analysis & Investigation
Domestic Violence / Victim Services
K-9 Program
Traffic Enforcement and Tactical Operations
Firearms Safety
Radio Procedure

Have a child to encourage? Check out how the moms of iHomeschool Network are growing a success.

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Wizard of Oz Field Trip: Activity #1

Stephanie — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 10:00:39 +0000

Make a Wizard of Oz Field Trip

After reading the Wonderful Wizard of Oz we had to make an Oz field trip. Being in Kansas it was easy to get to the OZ Museum in Wamego, Kansas. We have gone a few times and every time we go we learn something new about the story, the writer, and get to view an amazing collection of Oz items.

We spent a very nice day together as a family and learned a little more about L. Frank Baum while in the car on the way. We even heard about and learned a bit more about his book: The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. We found it a delightful fantasy which reminded me a bit of J.R.R. Toilken’s Letters from Father Christmas but with much more of a mix of fairies and nymphs and such. I had not realized how many books he actually wrote.

The Oz Museum had a wide variety of exhibits that encompassed all things Oz from exhibits about L. Frank Baum and the books to games, dolls, and movies; it was like a little history of all that which is Oz related. Their collection was quite impressive.

Wizard of Oz Field Trip Ideas:

Here are some possible Oz field trips if you are near any of these places. Be sure to check dates and times:

Not near any of these? Make Virtual Field Trips Here:

Don’t forget to take a look at over 50 more Kansas Field Trip ideas.

Hop around and visit other terrific Autumn Hopscotch topics:

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Homeschool Kansas : A Guide to Homeschooling in Kansas

Stephanie — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 11:00:41 +0000

I am excited to say that you can now download this helpful guide to homeschooling in Kansas:

Homeschool Kansas eBook: A Guide to Homeschooling in Kansas

[tweetthis]Awesome Free Resource for #homeschooling in #Kansas! [/tweetthis]

If you enjoyed the field trip series and will likehaving the FREE 14 page PDF in an easy to access format. It’s the perfect guide to homeschooling in Kansas. Now you can have the links and more right on your own devices to look up anytime. This eBook includes:

Getting started homeschooling in Kansas
Summary of what to do to register your “non-accredited private school” (homeschool) in Kansas
Field trip recommendations for history, famous people, science, art and culture
Book and unit study recommendation
List of helpful websites

This eBook is copyright 2013 so please do not make copies and give this eBook to friends. I simply ask that you show your support for Harrington Harmonies by sending them back to this page for their FREE download.

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Thanks for reading Harrington Harmonies!

[More Freebies on Harrington Harmonies]

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