LEGO® Education StoryStarter In Your Homeschool

Do you have a LEGO lover living in your house?

If so, you really should become familiar with LEGO® Education and their curriculum for homeschool.

A particular favorite in our home is StoryStarter, a curriculum that gives our children enrichment in reading, writing, creativity, technology, and so much more.

Designed as a SUPPLEMENT to your current language arts curriculum, StoryStarter offers children the chance to create, retell, and document stories. We have used it in a myriad of ways in our homeschool, and I can't speak highly enough of this resource. 

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About LEGO® Education StoryStarter

I've written about StoryStarter before - you might want to check out that review. 

StoryStarter is designed for children in 2nd-5th grades.  We have used this set as young as Kindergarten, and I can anticipate my son using it well into middle school.

(After all, we don't really put grade level labels on our homeschooled children, do we?)

StoryStarter can be used in your individual homeschool, and it is also PERFECT for a co-op or LEGO club!

In a nutshell, StoryStarter includes:

• StoryStarter Core Set -- 1100+ LEGO elements that can accommodate up to three children

• StoryStarter Curriculum Pack -- 24 scripted lessons that include writing, listening, reading, and presentation skills

• StoryVisualizer Software -- software that is (Mac and Windows friendly) for children to create their own stories, PLUS access to the StoryStarter App (also IOS and Android friendly)

The complete StoryStarter set is $139.95. If you consider how much one normal LEGO set costs, this is an EXCELLENT value (plus you receive a full curriculum AND software!).

I would much rather have this education set instead of 4 or 5 licensed character LEGO sets, wouldn't you?  It is an excellent resource for your homeschool that will last for many years. 

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How To Use StoryStarter in Your Homeschool

StoryStarter can supplement SO MANY areas of your homeschool:

• Reading

• Writing

• Fine Motor Skills

• Technology

• Narration

• Presentation Skills

As I recently shared with a group of parents and children at the Florida Parent Educators Association Conference, StoryStarter can be used in its most pure form (using the 24 scripted lessons), or can be used creatively.

Below is an example of a lesson from the curriculum I did with my son. This has been one of his favorites because it asked him to design a sports stadium and then add the commentary on a sports game of his choice. He created a basketball arena (in many scenes), uploaded the pictures to the StoryVisualizer software, and typed in the dialogue.  I love it!

Click here to see the full creation

If you want to get creative consider the following options: 

• Narrate read alouds with StoryStarter bricks -- if children struggle with verbal narrations, sometimes building a narration can be much easier; then, have your child tell you about their creation. Narration = CHECK!

• Create a LEGO scene of your choice and use the StoryVisualizer software to write a story about the creation. The StoryStarter app allows children to take their own pictures and immediately put them into story form - add text, backgrounds, and much more for a fun creation. Print these creations and save in a notebook.

• When learning about poetry have your children build the poem with StoryStarter bricks - then use the StoryVisualizer software to combine the text of the poem with your original LEGO creation.

Please take a moment to view the slides from the recent presentation I made on behalf of LEGO® Education - they will give you a good overview of the curriculum and how we have used the 24 scripted lessons, the software, and also how we have branched out and gotten creative with StoryStarter!

I know you will LOVE the StoryStarter resource for your homeschool!   Please also visit my LEGO Learning page to see more LEGO resources I have reviewed, along with free printables, too!  

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Benefits of Being Homeschooled

Our family's life looks NOTHING like it did just a few years ago.  

I mean NOTHING.

We've gone from children in traditional school with mom staying home and dad going to an office 40+ hours a week,  to children being homeschooled, mom writing curriculum and running a blog, and dad being an IT consultant. 

We don't function on a traditional schedule or timetable. 

We're living more and more off the grid, and that feels more and more NORMAL. 

As my husband and I were talking about this, we came to the conclusion that homeschooling was the catalyst for ALL of this.

Taking that huge leap of faith six years ago has allowed everyone in our family to more fully realize their dreams.

Isn't that just AMAZING? 

You see, homeschooling is just not about "school at home".  It's about a lifestyle of being together, breaking free from many of society's norms (and schedules!) and NOT being in that hamster wheel that too often defines American families. 

This week, all of the benefits of homeschool really became crystal clear to me. As I look back on our week it makes me smile to see the ways homeschooling has blessed our family.

*This post may contain affiliate links.

This month's featured resource is Teaching From Rest by Sarah Mackenzie. I'm reading this book in preparation for next year and it is inspiring and equipping me! 

On to #CollageFriday: 

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Pursuing a Skill With the Goal of Excellence

I remember well the STRUGGLE it was to get my daughter to practice piano when she was in public school.

She loved music, but she was just DONE at the end of a school day. That bus would drop her off at 3:30 and she was worn out. There was little time left for her to pursue what really mattered to her. 

Homeschooling eliminated that struggle. 

 Both of the children now play piano. It is a PRIORITY that practicing happens. We explain to them that we invest time and money in this skill, and if they stick with it, they will have a lifelong knowledge and enjoyment of music.  They can use their talents to make others happy and to bring themselves enjoyment, too. 

Music is important to us, and I believe we can pursue it deeply and passionately because we have the TIME. 

{What is it that interests your kids? Do you see how deeply they can pursue that interest because they are given time and space?}

Mother's Day was such a gift to me because it was the kids' piano recital. I was such a happy mama.  I could care less if they are virtuosos, what I care about is the perseverance and commitment they are learning through honing a skill. 

(Uploading videos because these #CollageFriday posts serve as my scrapbook - and record of our learning. I look back on several years of these Friday posts and am so glad I've kept track of everything we're up to!)

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Standardized Testing Week = NO BIG DEAL!

Another benefit of homeschooling is that we don't have to teach to or emphasize a dumb test. 

The longer I'm away from public schools, the more ASININE these tests seem to me. 

And, when I hear kids talk about the total fuss that is made over them in schools, it just makes me sad. 

Did you eat a good breakfast?  (shouldn't we do that EVERY day)

Do you have your #2 pencils and is everything bubbled in completely?

Our children took the Stanford 10 (through Classical Conversations) for two mornings this week. We didn't make a big deal out of it, and they said everything went just fine. 

The kids needed scrap paper for the testing, so I packed some fun notebooks from DaySpring for them. (A little encouragement from God on a standardized test could be quite helpful - ha!) 

While the kids were testing I worked, ran errands, and even READ FOR PLEASURE. 

The comment of the week (from Grant):  

"You know, the social sciences portion of that test was weird.

It seemed like only things the government would want you to know."  

That's my boy. 

We didn't do any other school this week other than testing. Grant enjoyed a fun afternoon with a friend who lives very close to us. Both boys had a taste of freedom because we let them ride bikes to and from each other's houses. They did all by themselves and then enjoyed an afternoon of Minecraft! 

I'm pretty sure we could sell most kids on standardized tests if we told them they could have the week off of school and play Minecraft, don't you? 

 

Learning With LEGO® Education

My son has become immersed in all things LEGO over the past several years. 

I'm SO thankful we discovered LEGO® Education and can use many of their products in our homeschool. 

This week, Grant has been using the StoryStarter curriculum to narrate Treasure Island to me. We listen to a bit of the story together, and then I ask him to build his favorite scene. (In one of the photos below you will see Jim hiding in the apple barrel listening to Long John Silver and his terrible plans!)

The other pictures show a basketball arena Grant created, complete with announcer and a game going on. Using the curriculum, I prompted him to build a sports stadium of any kind, and after he built he used the StoryStarter Story Visualizer software to create a commentary of the game -- which he called "Black Top Basketball".

 Click here to see his PDF creation! 

A HUGE benefit to homeschooling is that I have learned right alongside my children. When I observed how much Grant loved LEGOS, I wanted to do everything I could to learn more about them, and also blog about that, too. 

Little did I know I would eventually be blogging for LEGO® Education and speaking on behalf of them at a homeschool convention.

How FUN is that?   

This week I have been busy preparing to be the facilitator of a StoryStarter workshop at FPEA, which is held in Orlando next weekend. 

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The Beach With a Buddy

It's great to go the beach when most kids are still in school! 

Grant's super good friend invited him on a spur of the moment beach trip at the end of the week. 

This is the first time Grant has been gone from us (without his sister) for more than one night. I'm so happy he has this time to make memories with his friend! 

A HUGE benefit of homeschooling is vacationing during off-peak times and sometimes taking school on the road with you. 

Another benefit of homeschooling is the time our children have to cultivate friendships, and having their parents around to help them navigate how to successfully cultivate those friendships, too.  

I am most thankful I can guide my children through heart issues with friends, and that they have friends whose parents share our goals and values. 

(In the mean time, we get to enjoy a weekend with just Anna, which is very rare. This is her big children's chorus concert weekend - 3 performances in 3 days, which is always very fun, but VERY exhausting! )

I could go on and on about the benefits of homeschooling - but I have a feeling this post has been LONG ENOUGH.  

Have you noticed the benefits of homeschooling? What are they? 

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Join Me For Collage Friday

Feel free to grab this graphic (right click and save to your computer) and include it with your photo collage post.

*As long as your post contains lots of photos you can join in the fun - don't feel like you have to make a fancy collage!

Use the widget below to add your post with photo collages for the week. Visit other bloggers in the link-up to gain ideas and offer encouragement and support.

Join here, on Instagram, or post a collage on the Homegrown Learners' Facebook wall! 

An InLinkz Link-up

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