Free Homeschool Curriculum: Vintage Fall/Autumn Nature Study, Literature, and Poetry

Repost from last year:


All are in public domain and are free to read, print, and download.

In the Child's World, K-First, various lessons

Graded Literature Readers, First Grade(Apples)

The Finch First Reader, first quarter of the book covers fall(beautiful illustrations).

Nature Study in Elementary Schools, First Grade Reader

Nature Study in Elementary Schools, Second Grade Reader

The Haliburton Second Grade Reader , poem

The Art-literature Readers, Third Grade, poem and art

The Goose Quill Third Grade, poetry lesson

Good English, Oral and Written Third Grade, see Chapter 3 and 4 for fall themes.

Stepping Stones to Literature Third Reader, How The Oak Tree Became King.

The Children's Friend(LDS) Apple story

The Goose Quill, third grade, entire section on autumn.

Language Through Nature, Literature, and Art(Third grade), nature study and writing assignment

The Story of a Caterpillar (mid-elementary school)

The Cambridge Book of Poetry for Children, Keats - To Autumn; Allingham - Robin Red Breast for younger children.

Farm Arithmetic, Apple word problem (about fifth grade)

The Farmer and His Friends - apples and corn, about fifth grade, very factual

Insect Life, upper elementary

The Stars and Their Stories - The Winged Horse(Autumn constellation), elementary

Poetry of the Seasons, middle elementary and up.

Poems by Grades, middle elementary and up

Independent Fifth Reader , poem

Nature Study Made Easy, ages 10-11, fifth grade. Select Autumn plant chapters.

The American Normal Readers Fifth Grade, October poem

Sixth Grade Nature Study

Nature Study Lessons for Primary Grades

The Outdoor Handy Book, Autumn ( Classic Boy's Outdoors Book)

Nature in Verse, elementary

A Child's Book of Saints, Golden Apples and Roses Red(Patroness of Gardeners)

Nature Study, by Grades - see fall work for fourth and fifth grades

Sharp Eyes, A day-by-day nature study(fall), middle school

Eighth Reader, poem

The Fun of Cooking, Jams and Jellies

Peter and Polly in Autumn(late second-third grade reader)
An Evening in Autumn(fourth-fifth grade reader)

All the year round: a nature reader, Autumn(late elementary)


Teacher Helps, Lesson Plans:

How Nature Study Should be Taught(Autumn, elementary)

Nature Study by Months, elementary.

Type Lessons for Primary Teachers in the Study of Nature, Literature and Art for grades One through Four. Fall nature study.

Trees that Every Child Should Know

Home Games and Parties: A Corn Husking and An Apple-Paring Bee


School Arts: Autumn.

Also see Free Thanksgiving Printable Stories.

Classic Tuna Casserole

Starkist tuna in water was on sale at Save-A-Lot for .50 cents a can, so I thought I'd try this old standby recipe for a thrifty dinner. It was much better than I remembered, and the children had two helpings. I used macaroni noodles instead of egg noodles(less sog).

Hmmm, maybe I'll try a retro SPAM dinner next.

Ingredients:
Two cans of tuna drained
One can of sweet peas, drained
About two cups of cooked noodles
One can of cream of mushroom soup(or make your own)
3/4 cup of shredded cheese(we used a pizza cheese blend)
3/4 cup milk

Spread noodles in a medium sized casserole dish(I made mine in a round cake pan). Mix peas, milk, tuna, and soup, then pour over noodles. Mix gently to distribute sauce. Cook at 375 degrees until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Add shredded cheese to top, and return to oven until melted.

Serves six to eight.

Frugal Dinner with Family Dollar Meat

I found some Pampa brand canned beef and gravy(Brazil) for $1.60 a can at our local Family Dollar. It had been reduced from $2.00, and didn't look too bad from the picture. I took a chance, and surprisingly it was good quality meat. I cooked it with a can of Save-A-Lot mixed vegetables with potatoes, and about 1/3 cup of left over homemade chicken broth. The top was lightly sprinkled with some wheat germ and Parmesan cheese. After about 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven, it was ready.

My daughter didn't have any of this meal, so it was stretched three ways tonight. I figure I spent about $2.60 for the meal, or about .86 cents a person. Not bad for a beef meal made with tender cuts.

I spend less per serving on chicken, veggie and rice dinners, but beef was a nice change.

Free Vintage Cut-outs and a Story Starter

Cut and paste using vintage public domain printables.
The cat is precious in a particularly silly way. Just look at her expression and crossed paws. This was fun to cut and paste. We also used the cup(letter C) from the tea set drawing, and a vintage story page. Click to enlarge and save/print. I have only a black and white laser printer, so if we want color, we do it ourselves with crayons or colored pencils. This is a big money saver with the ink, so I don't miss the color too much. The cat comes out nicely in black and white.

I've got some squirrel printables which I'll  post later.

Silly cat courtesy of The Paper Collector.

Conversation starter from Appletons' Chart-primer, 1884.

Free Vintage September Flower Themed Math Word Problems for Early Elementary

Printable math questions here. The word problems are created to go along with a poem, September and a short story, The Bramble Bush and the Lambs.

All are in public domain and are printable. To print, right click on the image of the page at the links, and "Save as" or "View image".

Free Printable Story for Young Children: The White Knight

HE WHITE KNIGHT
RUTH KIMBALL GARDINER.


A great many years ago, in the time which is known as the Days of Chivalry, there lived a King in Far Away Land who was called William the Good. There is nothing about him in any of the histories, for the grown-up people have forgotten him, and only the children speak of him when they play a game and sing a song which begins:


King William was King James' son,
And from a royal race he sprung;
Upon his breast he wore a star
Which points away to the ocean far.

A medium length story, pages 101-108 originally from Happy Faraway Land by Ruth Kimball Gardiner, 1902. printable here.

To Print simply right click on the image of the pages at the link, "Save as" or "View image" to print.

Free Printable Short Story: Rhine Country Germany, Song of the Lorelei

To print simply right click on the image of the page at the link and "Save as",  or to print directly, click on "View image of page". This story is a read aloud for younger children or for the independent reading of older children. From a 1903 Primary Education periodical, free and in public domain. Click here. Pages 326 - 327.

More Printable Rhine Country Stories:

The Two Bells

The Rat Tower

The Christ Child and The Boy

The Change in Time

The Golden Shoes

The Necessity of Sleep

The Necessity of Sleep, by Alice Marsh, Detroit, Mich., 1903, Primary Education Magazine, Health Talks with Youngest Children I.

"...I wonder if we realize how much lack of sleep is responsible for the irritability and nervous restlessness that we see, not only in children, but in adults as well. It is simply the nerves crying out for rest and nourishment, and they cannot get the one without the other. For some unexplained reason, the human is the only animal that rebels at bedtime. We have all seen children so sleepy that they are pained in trying to keep awake, begging to sit up a little while longer.

...How long should little boys and girls sleep? If they are eight years old, or younger, they need at least twelve hours. That means, if you get up at seven o'clock in the morning, you should be asleep at seven o'clock the night before. And why should you stay up longer? To play? You can do that before the sun goes to bed—between the time when school closes and supper. That is the very best time of the day for playing."

I guess my children are old fashioned. They always need(ed) an early bed-time - asleep by 7 p.m. and up twelve hours later.

Free Curriculum-based Instruction Online

Myrnie of I Wonder Woman directed me to Head of the Class, a curriculum-based instruction with videos, multimedia, applications, and worksheets for free. I tried the Kindergarten level samples and liked it. The programs are described as supplements to education, so it won't be an all inclusive learning resource. Currently they offer content for preschool - fourth grade with grades five through eight coming soon. There are no downloads, but there is a required free sign-up for a password.

"Head of the class Mission

To create and provide curriculum-based instruction on the Web which enhances and improves the way PreK-8 students learn.

To provide parents and teachers with the Web-based interactive tools and resources they need to accelerate learning and improve educational performance in the 21st century.

Curriculum-Based Instruction

Head of the Class provides curriculum-based instruction by grade level. We have aligned our instruction to the various state curriculums.

Within Head of the Class you will find thousands of pages of instruction, hundreds of videos, hundreds of multimedia presentations, thousands of worksheets, as well as application programs which target learner success.

Individualized Instruction

Head of the Class provides a curriculum which parents and teachers can customize to individual learner needs. If you want your learner to have more math or reading, you simply select the levels you desire.

Head of the Class provides built-in assessment tests, the results of which customize the learner's curriculum. In other words, Head of the Class will automatically adjust a learner's curriculum to maximize learning. "

A Variation of Ernest T. Bass' Chicken Thief Stew

From Debbie's blog:

"... a recipe from my "Aunt Bee's Mayberry Cookbook". The original recipe is much more trouble than the way I made it. Here's how I made it":

1 whole chicken. 3 to 3 1/2 pounds
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup of water
salt to taste (you won't need much)
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp sugar
1/2 medium onion cut into slices, separated
1 14.75 oz can whole kernel corn
1 14.5 oz can cut green beans
1 29 oz can whole potatoes

I already had the shredded chicken in the freezer from cooking a bird last month, so I just added this to the remaining ingredients in a big pot for a slow cook. This was good and easy. No chickens were thieved for my stew. ;)

The Big Purple Ball

Taken in our pool. We ended up purchasing a 350 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank this summer, an upgrade from the toddler pool. My daughter has really been enjoying it. I think I saw a heater for this stock tank online. Two adult can easily fit in this "pool" and use it as a hot tub during the colder months.

September in the Garden

Click on image to enlarge.

The Armchair Traveler

"Now that it’s early September and we’re officially in the dog days of summer, what better way to spend this hot, sultry period than to take a refresher and travel to exotic lands afar? Even if you’re working through the summer or are more of a staycationer, you can take a trip around the world by exploring different countries through Google Books!

Courtesy of books scanned via our library project, anyone can stroll through China, experience ninety days' worth of Europe or get to know South America.

With the plethora of travel-related books available in full view on Google Books, you can explore the world and be visually enlightened with sights from afar from the comfort of your couch and a frosty glass of lemonade!" Read more here.

And it's free. So many books, so little time!

Free Vintage Cursive Alphabet Printouts

I found these in an early 20th century book at Google Books. Click on images to enlarge and print and/or save. These are in public domain.

Free Beginning Cursive Penmanship Book

The New Vertical Script Primer.

Free lined paper. More here.

Spend a Little, Save a Lot on Utility Bills

"Try these energy-efficient gadgets -- six moderate options costing $19 to $50 -- to trim your gas, water and electric bills." Read article  here.

Interesting ideas, but I'm not too sure about the motion sensor light bulbs with pets. I think it would freak out my cat, and I could see the lights going on and off all night. We work at living with low lighting at night, and remember to turn off lights and televisions when we leave a room.

They mention using a Smart Strip surge protector priced between $29 to $40 to cut down on energy sucking electronics which have standby modes. We use a regular inexpensive surge protector strip, and just flip the switch when we need to use the electronics. It comes on in the morning for a few items like the computers, and off at night. Some only get turned on occasionally, like the television/dvd player in the guest room.

Establishing a Rhythm

This cooler weather is wonderful! I think it's giving me a boost, and we've gotten a rhythm down with my new homeschool student, my kindergarten daughter. She is really enjoying the structure and one-on-one attention that comes with the formal table learning. These initial  sessions have been very short, but it has been fun to work with her toward those first steps to reading. We are doing a letter(or two) a week with review along the way. When we finished today, we continued to sit at the table coloring, drawing, and chatting together for at least an hour - so relaxing. I'm enjoying this nature coloring book from Rod & Staff(giggle). I color while she practices her letters and numbers. She doesn't like being watched over, so this takes the pressure off her.

My son, a seventh grader, is an independent learner, so he needs very little supervision or formal teaching. I spend a little time with him going over corrections or filling in the weak areas, but otherwise he keeps up with his learning. He was tough to teach when he was younger, but he hit his stride around third or fourth grade. We spent quite a bit of time on character development in those early years.