One way to ensure that all that is taught in the homeschool classroom is absorbed by the homeschool students is to connect it to the real world. The minute the child is able to see the real world application of the theory that you are teaching him, he will be a whole lot more interested in learning it. Food is a good place to start as he will be interested in seeing how lessons can affect food.
Fractions in Real Life
A pizza is a great way to explain how fractions work in real life. Each slice can be considered as a fraction of the whole. It is already a given that the pizza will be eaten at the end of the class as a treat. The one who can correctly get the most fractions right gets the most slices of pizza. This is a good incentive for them to get cracking and master the lesson.
Chemical and Physical Changes in Real Life
Have them understand the difference between a chemical reaction which changes the properties of a substance by helping them bake a cake. Show them how the baking powder lets the cake batter rise. Make the cake in a dish that is too small once and too large the other time to show how the container affects the baking. Of course they can divide up the cake batter into smaller cupcakes as well by calculating the total number of spoons of batter needed to bake a certain number of cupcakes.
Biological Changes in Real Life
The way a living organism grows marks a major difference from a non living organism. Take a few seeds of herbs or other fast growing edible plants and ask your homeschool students to soak them overnight. Also soak some non living things like a pencil, sharper, eraser, tack pins, etc. Show how the seeds sprout little shoots but there is no change in the non living items. The sprouting seeds can then be used in a salad with their daily snack. Some can also be planted in pots that may be placed on the window sill for them to cultivate into full fledged plants.
