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) / Homeschool Den / Language Arts: Books: Children's Literature / Language Arts: Reading / Science: Dinosaurs Unit
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 25, 2013 · Last modified March 16, 2016
A couple of week or so ago I highlighted 14 picture books my girls have been enjoying lately. Today I thought I’d share a few of the chapter books we are enjoying. Each day during lunch I read a chapter from Chronicle of Narnia. Last week we finally finished The Horse and His Boy (affiliate link) and loved every minute of it! It seems that everyone knows and talks about The...
Freebies / Homeschool Den / Must Read / Science Experiments / Science: Earth Science Unit / Science: Rocks and Minerals
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 24, 2013 · Last modified July 27, 2021
A few days ago I shared the Rocks and Minerals Packet I made for ED who is in preschool. I wanted to spend more time on the three types of rocks–igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. The kids were SO excited when they realized this activity was going to include semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, heath crunch bits and flaked coconut. (No we didn’t eat it all,...
Freebies / Homeschool Den / Must Read / Science Experiments / Science: Earth Science Unit / Science: Rocks and Minerals
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 24, 2013 · Last modified July 27, 2021
A few days ago I shared the Rocks and Minerals Packet I made for ED (which is also free). I wanted to spend more time on the three types of rocks–igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. The kids were SO excited when they realized this activity was going to include semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, heath crunch bits and flaked coconut. (No we didn’t eat it all,...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Freebies / Homeschool Den / Must Read / Science / Science: Earth Science Unit / Science: Rocks and Minerals
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 14, 2013 · Last modified April 23, 2021
Here’s another freebie from our Rocks and Minerals Unit: Free Printable Montessori 3-Part Cards on Famous Rocks Around the World! If your students are studying Rocks and Minerals they might enjoy this activity about Famous Rocks Around the World! This set includes the Sphinx, Stonehenge, Mt. Rushmore, Uluru, Arches, the Rock of Gibraltar and others. Hope you find these helpful. 🙂 Have a great day! ~Liesl Famous Rocks Around the...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Freebies / Homeschool Den / Must Read / Science / Science: Rocks and Minerals
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 11, 2013 · Last modified March 1, 2021
Are you studying Rocks and Minerals?! This post has a free packet, great for supplementing your Rocks and Minerals Unit. Find out more below! And be sure to check out the links to some of the fun hands-on activities we did while studying sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks. We wrapped our chemistry unit and spent a few weeks on vertebrates and invertebrates. It was time to tackle a new unit...
Homeschool Den / Must Read / Nature / Science / Trips We've Taken
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 5, 2013 · Last modified March 16, 2016
While we were on our road trip we had the opportunity to visit an amazing Nature Center in Nashville, TN with my Sis and her (homeschooling) kids. It had everything from taxidermy animals to look at, nature drawers to explore, microscopes, bird watching and identification, creative play with puppets, puzzles, costumes, blocks and more. I wish we had a place like this near us!! There was a full size...
Homeschool Den / Must Read / Science: Ocean Unit / Trips We've Taken
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 2, 2013 · Last modified March 16, 2016
We spent an amazing afternoon at the Aquarium of the Smokies. It was really fabulous. There were all different kinds of displays from the Tropical Rain Forest, penguin display, sting ray bay, underwater sea life, whale skeletons, a coral reef, and much more. I’ll try not to overwhelm you with pictures–just putting together a few collages, but it was such a great day it’s been hard whittling down the pictures!! The...
Health / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read / Outdoor Fun / Science / Science: The 5 Senses
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 29, 2013 · Last modified December 31, 2014
We’ve all heard the experts tell us that time outside has huge benefits for kids. It helps them concentrate and focus in school, boosts learning, helps fight obesity, and is even beneficial for social development. Research has proven that recess is good for kids: “A recent multicenter study of more than 11,000 eight- and nine-year-olds, led by pediatric researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York, showed...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Homeschool Den / Must Read / Science / Science: Vertebrates - Invertebrates
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 28, 2013 · Last modified February 23, 2019
One of the wonderful things that has been happening here at the Homeschool Den is the amount of independent work the kids have been doing. DD is always asking to learn more about animals so at the beginning of the semester, I downloaded Erica’s wonderful Expedition Earth: Discovering God’s Animals over at Confessions of a Homeschooler. It is a free animal unit study. Erica has made animal mini-books for close to...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Freebies / Homeschool Den / Must Read / Science / Science: Vertebrates - Invertebrates
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 27, 2013 · Last modified July 17, 2020
After our study of earthworms and flatworms, we went back to talking about vertebrates. One day last week, we learned a bit more about domesticated animals. We talked about some pretty fascinating things with DD and LD. Can you guess out of the millions of animal species how many large animals have been successfully domesticated? I’ll tell you in just a minute below! For ED we pulled in a few Montessori...
Homeschool Den / Must Read / Science / Science Experiments / Science: Vertebrates - Invertebrates
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 22, 2013 · Last modified March 9, 2018
Planarian are a type of small flatworm. My homeschooling friend had some Planarian she had ordered and shared some with us! What a great friend to share her worms! 🙂 Heh heh! Let me first share a picture of these little creatures and then I tell you some really cool things about them!! Planarian are amazing because they have the ability to regenerate! If you cut a Planarian in half...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Homeschool Den / Must Read / Science / Science: Vertebrates - Invertebrates
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 21, 2013 · Last modified March 29, 2016
Once we went over the classification of animals (I shared that post and our Montessori Activities here), we got into the exciting hands-on stuff! We looked at earthworms and a type of flatworm called Planarian. There are some interesting differences in their body systems so we spent time comparing the two. Our first step was to go out to the garden and find ourselves some earthworms. It was chilly out...
Between January 16 and 22nd, there is a 50% off sale at Mr. Q’s Science Classic Science curriculum. He offers Life Science (FREE: see the note below) Earth Science Chemistry Physical Science To get a flavor for the curriculum, you can download the Elementary Life Science Curriculum for free at any time. He also has lots of samples for each science curriculum before you buy it. We have not used...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Homeschool Den / Must Read / Science / Science Experiments / Science: Human Body Unit / Science: Vertebrates - Invertebrates
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 15, 2013 · Last modified September 23, 2022
Continuing on with our vertebrate-invertebrate unit… One day last week we learned a bit about the backbone and nervous system. We talked about the importance and function of the vertebrae and did some activities to explore how/why the vertebrae work. The kids liked this almost as much as they liked Harold (when we did the circulatory system)! Here’s a picture of vertebrae man–then I’ll explain what we did… I made...
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.
