The Daily Quest

When we first brought E10 home from school midway through first grade (back in January, 2005), I used to do a Question of the Day with him. We had a really fun time schooling back then (of course we still do...but we are busier now!) and things were pretty easy going. R9 was in preschool, I-7 was 2 and I was pregnant with J4.

E10 loved the challenge of reading for information and bringing it back to me. We kept the questions in a wooden canister that he painted for the task. A few weeks ago I decided it would be fun to bring it back to our homeschool and purposed to get a new box going. I retooled the name too calling it- The Daily Quest.

Supplies at the ready

Finding just the right images to represent adventure and quest seeking

The three oldest kids had a side to decorate. J4 preferred just to play with the decoupage. He finished his Molly jar from May.

I did the lid- remember...you are never too old to create!

The finished product ready for adventure. The last side of the box has some cardboard letters on it that read QUEST.

So, how does it work? Each day I put a set of questions in the box that the kids have to work on together. Today's quest was about hurricanes. The kids had to work as a team to come up with the answers. What is a hurricane? What are two other names for hurricanes and where are they used? What is the difference between a tropical depression and a tropical storm?

You can be sure I have some guidelines in place to facilitate the team building process. They must:

• Answer the questions together using reference books and websites.
• Try to avoid just Googling the answer. Use websites such as National Geographic for Kids.
• Write down the answer
• Work together without arguing or hogging.
• Everyone must write at least a little.
• Everyone will contribute to the answer at dinner time. Make sure you include everyone.
• Discuss where you can find the answers and give assignments according to age and ability.
• Work as a team.

Ok...so they are a bit redundant. I'm alright with it. At the top of the page I put The Daily Quest with the date and then I have those rules in a box at the top followed by the day's Quest. I made a document just for ease.

The kids are excited. It's all in the marketing friends. All in the marketing.