Monthly Archive: April 2016

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Critical Thinking Activities – Analogies, Logic & More

With our yearly testing behind us, we are going to spend some time on another side of math — analogies, logical reasoning, and math puzzles. These help kids develop logical thinking, analytical abilities, and mathematical reasoning. I thought I’d share some of the resources we use in our homeschool. My kids were SO, SO excited to get back to these activities!!  With life as busy as it has been, I can’t...

Ocean Unit - Marine Habitats Coral Reefs Tide Pools Tides Currents Ocean Zones Bioluminescence Worksheets and more 0

Ocean Unit Packet: Marine Habitats, Tides, Currents, Ocean Floor, Ocean Life, Bioluminescence and More!

I created this Ocean Unit because I could not find any curriculum that tackled all the topics I wanted to cover. In our ocean studies we explored Marine Habitats Coral Reefs Tide Pools Water Form Words (bay, estuary, lagoon, fjord, etc.) Features of the Ocean Floor (trench, seamount, guyot, etc.) Ocean Navigation (early navigation with astrolabes & the constellations, modern SONAR) Salinity Tides Ocean Currents (Surface & Deep Sea Currents)...

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Standardized Testing

This week our family is doing Standardized Testing to fulfill the requirements of our state (to show “proof of progress.”) For our family, doing testing is easier than creating a portfolio of work or meeting with a certified teacher. I know that I would spend endless hours pulling together a portfolio… and meeting with a teacher to discuss the kids’ work doesn’t appeal to me again because I know I...

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Homeschool Thoughts: Spending Time Reviewing

One topic that I don’t hear discussed much in my homeschool circles (or online) is taking time for review. My guess is that it’s not quite as exciting to talk about going backwards (so to speak) as finding new topics and new curriculum. But I find it important to review some of the topics and units we’ve covered in the past. We do that on a daily/weekly basis (with cards...

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Earth Day Resources and Free Printables

Earth Day is April 22nd!  The celebration of Earth Day began over 40 years ago. It is a day to celebrate our planet and think about how we can help our environment. Did you know that the Environmental Protection Agency was established not long after that first Earth Day in 1970? The Clean Air Act also passed that same year. Now Earth Day is celebrated in more than 175 countries...

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Free Clock Printable – Free Skip Counting by 5s Activities

My kids learned to skip count by 5s roughly at the same time they started working on clocks and telling time in 5 minute intervals. Today I have a free printable that combines both of these. There are two pages that have the kids practice skip-counting by fives and fill out a skip counting maze counting from 5 to 55. Kids count by 5s along the sides and try to...

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Bioluminescence – and Ocean Zones: Ocean Unit Activities

In this part of our unit we talked about the ocean zones and spent quite a bit of time talking about the creatures that live in these different zones.  Some organisms spend the day in the darker zones and then travel up into the upper zone at night to feed. We also talked about bioluminescence in quite a bit of detail. We found it fascinating that because there are so...

Europe-Countries-Flags-Map-Printable 0

Europe – Countries and Flag Maps Free Printable

This is a free printable map of the European countries and their flags. We are talking about the countries of Europe at the moment and I thought the flags would be a fun way for the kids to review what they’ve learned so far.  I’ve included a couple of different blank maps of Europe. You can print the maps in either portrait or landscape. Both are available in this PDF....

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German Prepositions – Präpositionen – Accusative, Dative and 2-way Prepositions

Today I want to share some of the activities we did as they learned the basic prepositions. In German, prepositions can be grouped into different categories based on the definite articles that are used with them.  We learned these in a fun, active way. I’ll share our resources with you today! 🙂 The kids have made a lot of progress this year in German.  We spent a long time on...

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Features of the Ocean Floor Projects

I have two really neat hands-on activities to highlight as we learned about the features of the ocean floor. Over the past few weeks, we learned about the basic features of the ocean floor: the continents shelf, continental slope, seamounts (and islands), guyots, and trenches. The pages below are in our ocean packet. We also learned a *ton* from the Blue Planet (affiliate link – available on DVD and Amazon...

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Free Grammar Practice Sheets – to/two/too, there/they’re/their AND Plurals, Adding Endings

This time of year, we spend quite a bit of time polishing skills and reviewing material.  ED still needs more practice working on to/two/too, there/they’re/their, and some other homophones. Plus, I thought she could also use some practice on plurals and adding endings.  She has that down most of the time, but not always. So, if anyone can use these, they are FREE to download! The answer keys are also...

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Simple Machine Unit – Video Post

Enjoy this one minute video about our Simple Machines Unit when we studied the lever, inclined plane, wedge, screw, pulley, and wheel & axle.  I showed many of the hands-on activities we did. This unit is great for early elementary kids. 🙂 Below you’ll find links to everything included in the video: links to the hands-on activities and for the Simple Machines Packet. Simple Machines Packet (About 30 pages) –...

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Ocean Navigation Hands-on Activity

Over the course of our ocean unit, the kids discovered how much our knowledge about the ocean has changed over time. Little was known about the ocean even just fifty years ago — let alone hundreds of years ago when explorers were first venturing out. We talked about early navigation techniques and in talked quite a bit about how the stars can be used for navigation.  The kids can recognize...

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Music Appreciation: Free Famous Music Composer Resources

Today, I wanted to mention a few fabulous free music resources that may be of interest if you are covering (or plan to cover) music appreciation in your homeschool. Thse include composer cards, lapbook pieces, and posters. Back a number of years ago we had some of the posters up of famous in our homeschool room. At the time, I focused on one composer a week and we listened to...