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History: American History / History: Native American Indians Unit / Homeschool Den / Language Arts: Books: Children's Literature
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 21, 2014 · Last modified November 14, 2017
I was looking for Native American children’s books written by and about Native Americans. I found Debbie Reese’s website, American Indians in Children’s Literature. What a great resource! Today I’d like to share some of the books we read together this past week. I went with the books that were available at our library and that were appealing to the kids. 1) Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story (affiliate link) This is a...
Homeschool Den / Outdoor Fun / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 20, 2014 · Last modified June 24, 2015
This game instantly became a family and friend favorite! Kick the Can is cross between hide-and-go-seek and tag with a “jail” thrown in for those who are captured! This was such an amazingly fun game to play in the woods where there are places to hide everywhere! This is a great game for 4-7 players. To begin, designate a place to be the “jail.” Not far away, the can should...
A number of years ago, we had a subscription to Discovery Education Streaming Plus. We loved it. Not only does it include videos and video clips on practically any science or history topic you can imagine, it also offers shows such as The Magic School Bus Animated Hero Classics Liberty’s Kids Tutenstein Grossology Horrible Histories Time Warp Trio Reading Rainbow Greatest Discoveries with Bill Nye Journals through Histories Myth Busters...
Active Math Games / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 18, 2014 · Last modified June 23, 2015
I’ve seen this activity several different places — over at Erica’s blog, Confessions of a Homeschooler and also at Betz White’s blog. The kids were pretty excited to make these… especially since we had an activity lined up for the right afterward! These are super fun for playing catch in the pool or just tossing around in the yard. You could get them wet and play hot-potato or use them...
Language Arts: Reading / Must Read / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 17, 2014 · Last modified June 9, 2015
This summer, hubby and the kids are going on a long road trip and will spend a lot of time in the car. (I’ll stay back at home because I’m recovering from ear surgery.) For years and years we have loved and listened to the free audiobooks provided by Natasha over at StoryNory. We love her Katie stories and fairy tales. This summer, though, it is time to revisit some...
Homeschool Den / Language Arts: Books: Children's Literature / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 16, 2014 · Last modified January 1, 2016
I was recently asked if we planned to homeschool throughout the summer. We often start back to school a bit earlier in August than our public school friends, but our family has decided that we need most of the summer off… at least from our more formal approach to school. For one thing, the majority of the kids’ friends have “off” during the summer, so we set up more playdates...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 15, 2014 · Last modified June 25, 2015
Have you ever made popovers? They are very simple to make as long as you follow the instructions carefully. My kids absolutely LOVE these! These are simple to make and don’t require many ingredients: >2 eggs, well-beaten 1 cup milk 1 cup flour <1/2 teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon melted butter Beat until smooth. Fill well-greased silicone muffin pan cups 1/3 full. It is very, very important not to over-fill...
Our approach to Kindergarten has changed a lot over the course of this year. We had to add in curriculum and change things up as ED grew and matured this year. ED turned six in February and she was demanding more work… and work that looked more like what her brother and sister were doing. She is such a different student than my oldest! So here are some of the...
Kindergarten Math / Math--Addition
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 11, 2014 · Last modified May 9, 2022
We’re winding up our school year. My older two are doing the standardized testing that fulfill the homeschooling requirements of our state, but ED is still doing school this last week or so. I thought I’d share the math sheets she’s working on. A number of years ago, I found a Montessori website that had addition and subtraction problems that corresponded with the colors used in some of the place...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 10, 2014 · Last modified June 18, 2020
Yesterday I shared the end-of-year questionnaire I wrote up for the kids. There are some end-of-year things that I need to think about as well. Not only is it time to reflect on some of the things that went well (or didn’t), but it’s also time to take stock of what we/I need to do to get ready for next year. I’ll jot down supplies we need, things I need to...
Homeschool: Planning and Preparation
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 9, 2014 · Last modified June 18, 2020
The end of the school year is coming up quickly. I usually take some time to reflect how the year went for our family. We’ll talk about some of the things we covered this year… everything from really diving into the Writing Workshop for the first time to our huge units on India, Gandhi, the Civil Rights Movement and China… plus our science units on Simple Machines, Weather, Water… our adventures...
My friend and I were having a long conversation about the options open to our kids once they reach high school and beyond. Her son and daughter, ages 9 and 11, just finished a year of chemistry using a college textbook. My friend is beginning to look into the options open to her kids as they continue moving forward academically. She said she felt hopeful and inspired after hearing about...
I had another major ear surgery last Tuesday (June 3). I’ve had a whole range of problems and complications stemming from some ear surgery back in October. I seem to have a “dehiscence” or hole along the horizontal semicircular canal (#2 in the picture below) which cause a range of problems from noise sensitivity to balance issues. And while it seems it would be easy to just plug the hole...
Ages 2-6: Fairy Tale Unit / Homeschool Den
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 6, 2014 · Last modified May 14, 2015
Today I’m sharing activities we did a few years ago to go along with The Emperor’s New Clothes. The kids would have been 6 1/2, 4 1/2 and 2. Emperor’s New Clothes Craft: Shopping for the Emperor’s New Clothes This activity was a big hit! I cut out a felt emperor, shirts, pants, shoes, a robe, and a crown. Each had a set price (see the sheet below). Then I gave...
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.
