Summer Homeschooling - Public Speaking & Debate Week

Welcome to Public Speaking & Debate Week! This week is about learning how to use your voice with confidence, clarity, and purpose. We’ll practice speaking in front of others, organizing our thoughts, and defending ideas with evidence instead of emotion. You’ll learn how debates work, how to ask strong questions, how to think on your feet, and how to speak in a way that makes people listen. By the end of the week, you won’t just be better speakers — you’ll be better thinkers, better listeners, and more confident explaining what you believe and why it matters.

🎬 Watch The Great Debaters.

🗓️ MONDAY — Public Speaking Foundations

This week, we’re learning how to speak so people listen. Not to win arguments, not to be louder than others — but to explain ideas clearly and confidently. Public speaking is a skill. Nobody is born good at it. It’s something you build.

“When have you seen someone speak and really hold attention?”

“What made them interesting?”

Learning Goals

• Understand why public speaking matters
• Learn basic delivery skills
• Practice speaking without fear

Teaching Script: "Public speaking isn’t about being loud or dramatic—it’s about helping people understand what you think and why it matters."

Core Lessons

1. What Makes a Good Speaker - Strong speakers do four things well. Not perfectly — just well.

• Eye contact - Looking at people, not at the floor.
• Voice (volume, pace, pauses) - Speaking clearly, not rushing.
• Body language - Standing like you believe what you’re saying.
• Clear structure - Beginning, middle, end.

“Which one do you think is hardest?”

“Which one do you already do well?”

🎤 30-Second Introductions: You’ll each give a 30-second introduction. This is practice, not a performance.

“Tell us your name, favorite book/movie, and one opinion you have.”

After each:

“One thing you did well was…”

“One thing to try next time is…”

2. Types of Speeches

• Informative
• Persuasive
• Entertaining
• Argumentative (debate)

3. Fear & Confidence

• Teach the concept of speaker nerves = energy, not fear.
• Feeling nervous doesn’t mean you’re bad at speaking. It means your brain knows something important is happening. Our goal this week isn’t no nerves. It’s speaking anyway.

Activities

• 🎭 Emotion Read: Read the same sentence in different emotions (angry, excited, bored).
• 🪞 Mirror Practice: Practice posture and gestures.
• Reflection: What's one strength you already have going for you? What's one goal you have for this week?

Resources

• Kid-friendly article
• Video: “Public Speaking Tips for Kids” – TED-Ed Youth
• Blog: National Speech & Debate Association

🗓️ TUESDAY — Public Forum Debate (Case Building Day)

Debate is not yelling. Debate is organized disagreement. Today, you will argue a position you may or may not agree with — and that’s a skill.

Resolution 

Resolved: The United States should accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

That means: Should the U.S. officially join the International Criminal Court?

Teaching Script: “A debate resolution is a yes-or-no question. One side must prove why it should happen. The other proves why it should not.”

To do this, each side must prove:

• What they believe
• Why it matters
• Why its better than the other side

🧱 Debate Basics (Kid-Friendly Breakdown)

• Affirmative (yes): “We should do this because it solves problems.”
• Negative (no): “We should not do this because it causes harm or doesn’t work.”

"Why isn't just having an opinion enough?"

Step 1: Learn the Topic (Together)

Explain in simple terms:

• What is the ICC?
• What is the Rome Statute?
• Why hasn’t the U.S. joined?

Watch / Read Together

• Video (short & clear): ICC explained for students
• Article
• Student-friendly overview

Step 2: Coin Flip & Team Assignment

• Flip coin for Affirmative / Negative
• Assign:
• Speaker 1
• Speaker 2

Step 3: Case Writing (Scaffolded)

Case Template (Use for BOTH sides)

Every argument has three parts.

1. Introduction

• Restate the resolution
• Clearly say your position

2. Argument 1

• Claim - what you're saying
• Evidence (quote/fact) - proves it's true
• Impact (why it matters, why anyone should care)

3. Argument 2

• Claim
• Evidence (quote/fact)
• Impact (why it matters)

4. Conclusion

• Why your side is better overall

Prep Time Rule:⏱️ Each team gets 3 total minutes of prep time during the debate.

Model an example.

• “What does this prove?”
• “Why does that matter?”
• “Can you say this more clearly?”

🗓️ WEDNESDAY — Public Forum Debate Day

Today is about thinking on your feet, staying calm, and being respectful. You are not attacking people. You are challenging ideas.

Morning: Finish Writing

• Polish cases
• Practice timing
• Review crossfire questions

⏱️ Each team gets 3 total minutes of prep time during the debate.

Teaching Script for Crossfire: Crossfire isn’t arguing. It’s asking smart questions that expose weak points. They should do one of three things: clarify, expose a weakness, force a choice.

• “Where is your evidence for that?”
• “Does that apply in all cases, or just some?”
• “Which matters more: safety or independence?”

🧠 Debate Flow

• Constructive – Team A (4 min)
• Constructive – Team B (4 min)
• Crossfire (3 min)
• Rebuttals (4 min each)
• Crossfire (3 min)
• Summaries (3 min each)
• Grand Crossfire (3 min)
• Final Focus (2 min each)

📌 Judge Tip for You:

Judge on:

• Clarity
• Use of evidence
• Organization
• Persuasiveness
• Respectful questioning
• Strong final focus

After Dinner: Debate Night

• Optional: invite family as audience
• Applause after every speech

Post-Debate Reflection

Ask:

• “What argument mattered most?”
• “What question changed the debate?”
• “What would you improve next time?”

🗓️ THURSDAY — Individual Speech Events

Teaching Script: “Debate is teamwork. Individual events are about your voice. Today, you choose how you want to communicate.”

🎭 Individual Events Mini-Lessons

Dramatic Interpretation (DI)

• Serious excerpt from a book/play
• Show emotion through voice & movement
• Your goal is to make us feel something.

📘 Practice Source

Duo Interpretation (DUO)

• Two performers
• No touching or eye contact
• Use blocking and contrast

Humorous Interpretation (HI)

• Funny but controlled
• Comedy is about timing, not chaos

Impromptu (IMP)

You'll get a topic, take a breath, and organize your thoughts. Everyone messes up in impromptu. That's the point.

🎩 Pull a topic from a hat:

• “Should homework exist?”
• “Is technology good for kids?”
• “What makes a hero?”

Structure:

• Intro (30 sec)
• Point 1
• Point 2
• Conclusion

Original Oratory (OO)

• 3–5 minutes
• Persuasive speech on a topic they care about

Possible Topics:

• Screen time
• Animal rights
• School rules
• Climate action
• Social media

🗓️ FRIDAY — Memorization & Performance Night

Morning

• Memorize OO
• Practice gestures and pauses

Teaching Script: “Memorization frees your brain to connect with the audience.”

Practice tips:

• Chunking
• Speaking while walking
• Speaking without notes for short sections

Evening: Performance Showcase

"Tonight isn’t about perfection. It’s about courage. We clap for effort, growth, and bravery.”

Each child performs:

• Original Oratory
• One interpretation OR impromptu

“What was one strong moment?”

“What improved since Monday?”

🎤 Optional Awards:

• Best Speaker
• Most Improved
• Strongest Argument
• Best Stage Presence

This week, you learned how to:

• Speak clearly
• Defend ideas
• Disagree respectfully
• Stand up and be heard

Those skills matter everywhere — school, work, and life.

Hand out Debate Camp Certificates.

🗓️ SATURDAY — Field Trip

• 🎙️ Toastmasters Youth Event (if available)
• 🏛️ Courthouse Observation (mock or real)

📚 Bonus Resources (Excellent for This Age)

• National Speech & Debate Association (student resources)
• Debate drills & videos
• Public speaking games for kids

Summer Homeschooling - “Living with Totoro” Week

Welcome to "Living with Totoro" Week! This week, we are stepping out of the fast, noisy world and into a quieter one—the kind where houses breathe, forests listen, and small daily tasks matter. Like Satsuki and Mei, we’ll learn how to live close to the land: doing simple chores by hand, gathering what nature already offers, cooking old-world Japanese foods, making light with our own candles, and paying attention to things most people rush past. This isn’t about building or conquering or finishing quickly—it’s about noticing, helping, creating, and listening. For five days, we’ll live as if forest spirits might be watching kindly from the trees, and we’ll learn what life feels like when we slow down enough to hear them.

Bethesda Park Cabin #3: Your Jacksonville Glamping Oasis in Florida 

🌱 SUNDAY — Arrival & Settling Into the Totoro World

Evening

• Arrive, unpack slowly, open windows, let the house “wake up”
• Light sweeping of porch (engawa)
• Brew mugicha (barley tea), Japan’s summer drink - tea ceremony
• Explore the yard: find a “Totoro Tree” (biggest tree becomes home base); give it a hug and say, “Hello, Forest. Thank you for having us.”

Dinner

• Make onigiri (rice balls) for your first countryside bento
• Eat outdoors on a blanket like Satsuki & Mei

Wind-down

• Quiet walk around the yard to explore: collect leaves, tiny branches, feathers, fallen flowers
• Learn your first Japanese word: 森 (mori) – forest
• Create a “Nature Altar” in the home (like Mei’s treasures shelf, tokonoma alcove)
• Start nature journals; candle journaling: “What do I hope to learn this week?”

🍃 MONDAY — Chores of a Country Life

Morning Chores

• Sweep porch & shake rugs (tatami-cleaning tradition)
• Make natural cleaning spray (vinegar & citrus peels)
• Craft: Make a mini shimenawa (sacred rope) for your Totoro Tree

Lunch

• Simple miso soup & rice
• Teach chopstick skills (hashi)

Afternoon

• Read an old folk story under a tree
• Quiet time drawing the house from outside
• Origami: frogs, cranes, sakura flower, or Totoro face
• Play ohajiki (Japanese marble-like game)
• Learn Japanese nature words:
• kaze (wind)
• tsuki (moon)
• kodama (tree spirit)

Evening (Candlelight)

• Make shadow puppets
• Storytelling circle: “If Totoro lived here…”
• Perform a kamishibai style story (Japanese story cards)
• Write “Today I served the house” in your journal

🌸 TUESDAY — Foraging & Harvesting

Morning Chores

• Forage: Collect pinecones, sticks, leaves, bark, herbs, flowers, grasses, soft moss, clover, mint, or fallen items/petals (old Japanese summer activity); gather acorns and natural treasures
• Observe mushrooms, cicada shells (semi no nuki-gara), birds, & dragonflies (tonbo), and draw them in your journal

Lunch

• Prepare tsukemono (quick Japanese pickles) to enjoy later
• Eat rice, pickled veggies, and fruit

Afternoon

• If allowed: harvest garden items or collect eggs
• Prepare a small “meadow salad,” foraged bouquet, or herb bundle/herb seasoning mix
• Make pressed flower pages for your journal
• Draw or paint nature scenes
• Nature craft: Create forest spirit acorns; make soot sprite characters from acorns/pom-poms & yarn

Evening (Candlelight)

• Sit outside quietly: look for fireflies
• Nature listening ritual; listen to nighttime insects
• Record nature sounds in journal (“What did the night teach us?”); “What did the forest whisper today?”

🕯 WEDNESDAY — Candle Making & Old-World Crafts

Morning Chores

• Wash dishes outside in basins (like old Japanese homes before plumbing)
• Sweep pathway or porch
• Hand-wash 1 clothing item or towel (basin washing)
• Hang laundry outdoors to dry (furoshiki-style folding practice after)
• Organize clothes using KonMari-style folding (kid-friendly)

Lunch

• Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled eggs) + rice
• Brew fresh mugicha

Afternoon

• Beeswax candle making
• Make herb sachets from lavender, mint, and rosemary (placing one under your pillow is Japanese tradition)
• Begin weaving project (placemat or bookmark,traditional Japanese textile vibe)
• Japanese brush calligraphy (shodo)
• Practice kanji like: 月 (moon), 風 (wind), 土 (earth), 心 (heart)

Evening (Candlelight Only)

• Use the candles they made
• Write letters with calligraphy pens/quills
• Calligraphy practice → write “ありがとう (arigatou)”
• Read by candlelight (classic childhood magic)
• Whisper “Oyasumi, Totoro” before bed

🌾 THURSDAY — Cooking Like a Totoro Neighbor

Morning Chores

• Gather herbs, wash them, dry them on a rack (old Japanese homes hung herbs from the rafters)
• Scrub and wash vegetables outdoors
• Fill water basins for dishwashing

Lunch Cooking Project

• Kids make:
• Make butter in a mason jar
• Harvest rice bowls, rice bowls with toppings
• Miso soup with greens, veggies

Afternoon - Japanese Desserts

• Make dango (sweet dumplings)
• Or roast yaki-imo (sweet potatoes)
• Craft: furin wind chimes using bells & painted paper strips

Evening (Candlelight)

• Candlelit dinner
• Hang furin chime outside → listen to its soft sound
• Draw your dango, meal, or wind chime in nature journals
• Tell stories of Totoro (maybe the one at the bus stop)

🌲 FRIDAY — The Totoro Forest Walk

Morning Chores

• Sweep and tidy home; clean house (Japanese hinoki wiping — damp cloth on wood)
• Wash and fold anything dirty
• Prepare a “forest offering” of flowers, herbs (child-safe, respectful)

Lunch

• Onigiri picnic under trees
• Drink mugicha outside

Afternoon

• Long, quiet forest or meadow walk
• Identify plants, trees, birds
• Look for:
• Interesting bark textures
• Roots that look like spirits
• Look for tree “faces” (kodama spirits)
• Sketch the “faces” you see in trees, bark patterns and roots
• Collect final nature items for display
• Sit still and silently (meditate) for 10 minutes — “Quiet Like Totoro Time”
• Create a Totoro Museum Table (take a photo) with:
• Pressed flowers
• Calligraphy papers
• Candles
• Dango sticks
• Wind chimes
• Nature collections
• Weaving projects

Evening - Totoro Feast

• Kids prepare one dish each (bread, soup, salad, herb potatoes, etc.); use the pickles they made
• Light all candles and tell legends around the candles
• Tidy home by hand (Japanese custom before holidays)
• Write a final reflection: “What did the forest show me today?”
• Tsukimi (moon-viewing) ritual
• Light a candle
• Eat a small sweet
• Write a moon haiku
• Stargazing like Satsuki and Mei
• Share journals and stories
• Blow out their homemade candles as a “thank you” to nature and to “seal” the magic of the week.

🌙 SATURDAY — Closing Ritual

Morning

• Sweep porch gently
• Pack belongings calmly
• Hand-wash last items
• Create a small offering to your Totoro Tree (flowers, herbs)
• Bow to your Totoro Tree and say: “Arigatou gozaimashita, Mori no Kami.” (Thank you, Forest Spirit.)