Making Homeschooling Hands-On, Engaging, Meaningful & Memorable! Be inspired by all the possibilities!! Check out our unit studies, packets and printables!
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Ages 2-6: Preschool at Home / Ages 2-6: Preschool for ED - Fall 2011 (age 3 1/2) / Ages 2-6: Toddler/Preschool Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 26, 2015 · Last modified August 23, 2015
When my kids were first learning to read, we used to play a LOT of games. I had a number of file folder games ready to rotate into their work boxes. I made this two-letter file folder game a while back, but hadn’t gotten around to post it. Better late than never, right?!! So, I hope those of you with young ones on the brink of reading find this useful! ...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Ages 2-6: Preschool at Home / Homeschool Den / Kindergarten / Montessori (general info) / Science / Science: Biomes; Animal Habitats / Science: Garden Science / Science: Vertebrates - Invertebrates
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published July 20, 2015 · Last modified May 13, 2021
This is definitely the perfect time of year to study frogs, toads, and salamanders! I made some Montessori 3-Part Cards with some of the common amphibians of the northeast. This would be a perfect addition to the free Frog Lapbook over at Homeschool Share! You can download these Montessori 3-part cards by clicking on the link below. These are currently free to download! I would love it if you could help...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool at Home / Ages 2-6: Preschool for ED - Fall 2011 (age 3 1/2) / Kindergarten Math / Math--Addition / Math: Preschool Math
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 22, 2015 · Last modified February 22, 2016
I made a cute flower-themed math packet for kids just starting on basic addition through 10. There are a couple different activities to practice working with the 5s and 10s Number Families. There are two worksheets for kids to supply the missing number for the 5 and 10 Number Families. My kids always loved games and would beg to play games like the one below over and over! This is basically a...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Holiday: Easter
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published March 25, 2015 · Last modified March 26, 2015
Today I have two free printable Easter games for you. One is a Word Family Game for -at -it -ot words. The other is a math game for practicing number recognition, addition, subtraction or division. Egg Races Math Game: The first is a math game that you can adapt for any math practice as long as the answer is between 4 and 9 — number recognition, addition, subtraction or division. Print out...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool for ED - Fall 2011 (age 3 1/2) / Ages 2-6: Toddler/Preschool Activities / Science / Science Experiments
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published November 28, 2014 · Last modified December 30, 2014
Now that Thanksgiving is over, I have a fun activity for your with your Indian corn. We did this ‘science’ activity with Indian corn a couple of years ago. Soak your Indian corn cobs in a bit of water to see what will happen. We had a large tray with a paper towel and about 1/4 inch of water. We also pour water over the cob every 2 or 3...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Homeschool Den / Math: Preschool Math
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published September 28, 2014 · Last modified June 8, 2015
Over the next few days, I’m going to focus on our math activities. I thought that before I share what my older kids are doing these days, I’d share some of the activities they did when they were younger. This post highlights a few things I did with my kids for math in the 2 1/2-3 1/2 age range. Here are some activities I did with ED when she was 2...
Ages 2-6: Apple Unit / Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Ages 2-6: Preschool at Home / Ages 2-6: Toddler/Preschool Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published September 27, 2014 · Last modified September 19, 2015
It’s apple season! The perfect time to do apple-themed activities with the kids. When my kids were little, we played Math Grid Games all the time. I made an Apple-Themed Grid Board to share with you today. Here’s a picture of the game board: How to Use Math Grids with your Preschooler: Print 2 Grid Boards per player Gather two different sets of tokens and one die. For Younger Kids: Take...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / How to Start Homeschooling / Kindergarten Math / Math General Posts / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 6, 2014 · Last modified March 10, 2016
In this series, I thought I’d try to offer new homeschoolers a starting point for finding homeschool curriculums that works for your family. Today I’ll be talking about math. It’s sometimes tricky to find the curriculum that works well for you and your kids. It’s helpful to ask around (online and in your community) to see what will work for your child. If you can go to a homeschool curriculum...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Arts and Crafts / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published July 9, 2014 · Last modified May 14, 2015
When it’s really hot outside, it’s great to have a project indoors to keep the kids entertained. One year we made Mushroom Playhouses. The kids still have their mushrooms… and they have been used as fairy homes and the Littlest Pet Shop’s play houses. Here’s how you and the kids can make your own mushroom playhouse: 1) We covered rolled-up cardboard and a balloon with paper maché. [1/2 cup flour +...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Arts and Crafts / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 28, 2014 · Last modified November 2, 2018
This Spaghetti Yarn Art is a cute, quick craft you can do with your 2-5 year old. This was a really good project even for ED, who was age 2 at the time. She could pretty much do it on her own as long as I reminded her of the steps along the way. For this activity we needed cooked spaghetti (we used fettuccine), bits of yarn or string, and glue. We had one bowl of...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Ages 2-6: Preschool at Home / Ages 2-6: Toddler/Preschool Activities / Homeschool Den / Language Arts: Reading
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 23, 2014 · Last modified January 24, 2019
In this post I’d like to share a dozen activities that we did with the kids to help foster early reading skills. These are activities we did with CVC words and basic sight words to make the learning process fun and engaging!! 🙂 The first step in learning to read is to make sure your child knows their letter sounds. We shared lots of ideas about that in our Preschool...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool for ED - Fall 2011 (age 3 1/2) / Freebies / Homeschool Den / Science: Vertebrates - Invertebrates
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 16, 2014 · Last modified October 16, 2022
A couple of months ago, I did an animal unit with my youngest. We went over the characteristics of living and non-living things. Then we talked about vertebrates and invertebrates and finally we went over the five vertebrate groups in quite some detail. I shared the free Montessori cards I made for that part of our unit: the Montessori Vertebrate-Invertebrate cards and the sheets I made on Animals and their Characteristics....
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Ages 2-6: Preschool at Home / Ages 2-6: Preschool for ED - Fall 2011 (age 3 1/2) / Homeschool Den
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 14, 2014 · Last modified February 21, 2016
Here are some alphabet activity ideas you can do with your little one: At first we played these activities just for letter identification, but as the kids learned their letters we would play these games and identify the sound/s they make. Above all, be enthusiastic and have FUN with the kids!! Jump on Letters:We did this activity with everything from contact paper in the kitchen to letters written in chalk on...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Ages 2-6: Preschool at Home / Ages 2-6: Preschool for ED - Fall 2011 (age 3 1/2) / Ages 2-6: Toddler/Preschool Activities / Homeschool Den
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 10, 2014 · Last modified December 30, 2014
When my kids were little I bought a set of Pattern Blocks. It’s been one of the most enduring resources we have. We still bring them out occasionally and also use them for math now and then. The kids have used templates like these: And they’ve also used the pattern blocks for free play: There are lots of places where you can find free pattern block templates: One of the...
Do you believe education can be exciting, inspiring, and full of joy? We do too!
I love the quote by William Butler Yeats, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." It's about getting the kids involved, engaged, and fired up about learning (while juggling the rest of life too!)
A bit about me: I have my Master's from Brown University. I have more than 20 years of teaching experience. I was a high school teacher for many years both in the U.S. and internationally and also taught for the University of Maryland before leaving to homeschool my 3 wonderful kids.
To read more about us CLICK HERE.
Click on the image to find out more about the units and packets we have available.
This post has links to dozens of posts and resources both for new and veteran homeschoolers for everything from finding homeschool curriculum to general homeschool advice and encouragement.
Click on the image above to see the History Units we covered in our homeschool.
What science topics could I teach my 5-7 year old - Homeschool Science Curriculum
Click on the image above to see the Science Units we covered in our homeschool from elementary through middle school (and beyond!).
A list of the books we've used most in history, science, math, language arts, etc.
Click the image to check out our packets on Earth Science, Rocks and Minerals, the Atmosphere, Weather, Energy and More!
Units are also sold separately.
This is one of our most popular units. It covers the Layers of the Earth, Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes, Volcanoes and More! It is included in the Earth Science Bundle (see the picture/link above).
Click the image to see our Biology Units on Animal and Plant Cells; the Biology Unit on Biomes, Food Chains, Symbiosis; Scientific Classification & Taxonomy (Domain/Kingdom/Phylum/Class, etc.); Botany - Plant Kingdom and Oceans and Oceanography.
Click on the image to see our Animal Bundle - including the Animal Unit, Life Cycles, the Rainforest, Winter (Polar Animals) & Hibernation, Chameleons, Wolves, Cicadas and more!
The Human Body Systems, Skeletal, Digestive, Circulatory, Muscular, Nervous, Endocrine Systems and More (with lots of hands-on activity ideas)! We usually study a different body system each year.
Click on the image to see our units on the States of matter, Properties of Matter, Electricity & Circuits, and the Chemistry Unit (Get to know the Periodic Table in a fun way!)
This is a free checklist I put together of the various science units I hope to cover in the elementary and middle school years.
Do your kids know the 4 largest countries? Which countries have the most people? The longest river? This packet covers basic world and U.S. facts and also covers geographic features and land forms.
Click on the image to check out our 100-page unit on World War I.
We have used AAS for 6 years! AAS is an affiliate link.
Dozens of posts about how to create a homeschool writing workshop.
Click on the image to check out all of our fun K-2 Math Packets.
This is one of the best values we have... more than 20 PDFs with games, activities and worksheets to learn/practice the multiplication facts ($7.00).
Click on the image to discover some of the pages, posts and homeschool resources within our blog that might be the most useful for you including a long list of our freebies!
Click on the image to check out our 100+page Rocks and Minerals Unit.
This is a fun, hands-on unit for early elementary students!
How the body is organized from cells to tissues... organs to body systems
Click on the image to check out some of the Spanish worksheet bundles we have available!
Click on the image above to check out our German worksheets.
Click on the image to find out more about our units and packets.
