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Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Arts and Crafts / Science: Biomes; Animal Habitats
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 1, 2010
This week we’re going to make a diaorama on thedeciduous forest and its animal inhabitants. First wemade deciduous trees. The kids used cut up tissue paperand placed the bits onto contact paper. Then we putgreen paper onto the contact paper and cut out a treeshape. We’ll add a tree trunk later. Our other project today was to make coffee groundsquirrels. The kids decided to use colored sand for thesmaller version...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Math: Preschool Math / Science: Biomes; Animal Habitats
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 1, 2010 · Last modified February 21, 2016
DD and I played a squirrel math grid game today. We took turns rolling the dice and gathering acorns for our squirrels. She also quickly did the oak tree life cycle. Both activities were from Prekinders.com (the acorns were from another game I printed out that we’ll play tomorrow, but if you have real acorns nearby that’d certainly be a better option!)
My son really enjoys spy gear. Making a periscope (whichhe immediately started calling a “spy scope”) was rightup his alley!! Today’s science experiment was very simple and took lessthan 15 minutes. We took a long tubular box, cut a flap onopposite sides and opposite ends of the box, glued a smallmirror to the flap and taped it the flap on the inside of thebox at a 45 degree angle (make...
I wanted the kids to be able to repeat experiments theywere especially interested in. As we’ve done eachexperiment, I’ve written the steps out on index cardsfor LD to follow. After we’ve done the experiment I’veprinted photos of the experiments on card stock andplaced them on a key ring. LD can flip through the stackand choose experiments to repeat (and I have them onfile and easy to access in the coming...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Science / Science: Biomes; Animal Habitats
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 31, 2010
We’re going to be starting our new unit on biomes/animal habitats and will be learning about forests this next week. It just so happens that there are some beautiful 3-part Montessori cards free for a few days at the Montessori Print Shop that will work in nicely with our studies. I can’t post a picture today of these lovely woodland animal cards, but animals include the skunk, bear, deer, rabbit...
Science / Where We Used to Live (Australia posts)
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 28, 2010
The picture above is a rock called Gypsum. When wewere in Coober Pedy (known for its opal mining), we wentnoodling (looking around the piles of dirt brought outfrom the mines) for opal. We didn’t find much opal, butwe did find some beautiful crystal rocks called gypsum.It breaks easily into fine, needle-like strands.
Science / Where We Used to Live (Australia posts)
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 28, 2010 · Last modified March 29, 2016
I’ve included a picture with ED’s tiny hand. Now want to see something astounding? Check out this website: http://www.ironammonite.com/2009/12/surviving-cueva-de-los-cristales-giant.html In a cave in Mexico where the temperatures soar to 50 Celsius/122 Fahrenheit, there are gypsum crystals that make a grown man look like ED’s small fingernails! You can also check out the National Geographic website: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/crystal-giants/crystals-photography I found even the story of how they entered the cave (without perishing) and...
I gathered a number of items from around the houseand put them all into a ziploc bag with a flashlight. Thenbefore letting the kids sort, I made sure they saw examplesand understood the difference between something thatwas transparent: you can see obects clearly through and light passes throughtranslucent: you cannot clearly see objects, but light passes throughopaque: light does not pass through I was surprised by a number of objects...
This activity would be easy to create by clippingfood items from an advertisement. I got mine on saleat some point. There’s also a free file folder game athttp://filefolderfun.com/FirstGradeHealth.htmlwhere kids can sort items into grains, fruit, vegies,milk and meat. Anyway, here is DD sorting foods into the variousfood groups. PS — When I was talking to my hubby about the“food pyramid” he said, “Oh no, that’s outdated.” HappilyI could say that...
I have lots of science experiments that we didn’tget to this past month. Since we’re going on toother units, I didn’t want to do science experimentsdaily. Instead, I have decided to set up a new sciencecenter every Monday. That gives me time over theweekend to gather the materials I need and to getthings set up. On Thursdays, I plan to set up an “old” experimentthat we’ve done already out on...
Part III: Float a Penny Test how many pennies can be placed on an index cardbefore it sinks. Do the same with a popsicle stick. See how many rocks/pennies can be placed on a pieceof bark before it sinks or tips over. Part IV: Float AND SinkTry to make the following items float. Then try to makethat same object sink. Do not place anything on it. Try: aluminium foilclaya plastic...
The kids did this quick camouflage activity (from Take itTo Your Seat Science Centers, Grade 1-2). We alsodid an online game trying to find the camouflaged animals.Find the frog, ibex, snakes, fox, insects, turtles and more.The kids played that for a little bit, but we also just enjoyedlooking at images on the computer such as this websiteabout animals that change colors:http://webecoist.com/2009/02/22/color-changing-strange-animals-species/
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 8, 2010 · Last modified June 25, 2015
This month we’re doing lots of science experiments. We also have a friend with us for the remainder of the school holidays (end of January for public school kids), so the kids have been having long, imaginative play sessions most days. It doesn’t leave me with too much more to talk about on the home-schooling front. Life in general though is full to overflowing! Isn’t that the case for most...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 8, 2010 · Last modified June 25, 2015
Yesterday we prepared our red-cabbage pH indicator. We took a red cabbage, sliced it and placed it into a pot of boiling water. The heat was turned off and we let it sit for several hours. Then we drained out the cabbage and put the cabbage juice into the fridge until we were ready to try our experiment
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.
