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Engineering - STEM Activities / Homeschool Den / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 6, 2016 · Last modified May 6, 2016
Here are some fun summer activities you might enjoy doing with your kids this summer! Today’s post highlights some fun engineering, science and math activities you can do this summer! Summer Fun: Science, Engineering, and Math Ideas Egg Drop Challenge: Give the kids various supplies (cups, paper bags, yarn, scissors, hole punch, tape, and some coins). Have them design a parachute that will safely let an egg drop to the...
Arts and Crafts / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published July 21, 2014 · Last modified June 24, 2015
It’s not summer if we don’t do some tie dying! Most every summer we get one of those kits to make our own tie-dyed shirts. The kids love doing this. We used the Jacquard Tie Dye kit because it had such great reviews. The colors are definitely bright and vibrant. Our entire family aunts, uncles, cousins, kids were able to make shirts using this one kit. We had to buy...
Arts and Crafts / Homeschool Den / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published July 14, 2014 · Last modified June 23, 2015
Here’s a fun indoor activity that takes under 20 minutes. All of my kids and my niece (13) enjoyed making their own stationery. All you need for this activity is shaving cream, tempera paint and a thicker paper. We used medium weight drawing paper. Here are the easy steps: Spray the shaving cream, Add spoonfuls of the desired paint, Mix lightly with a finger or spoon, Press the paper down...
This is such an easy idea, I hesitated even to mention it, but it occupied the girls for well over an hour. It was simple, easy, creative and mess-free — so I just had to share!! This would even be a great activity to keep the kids occupied on a long car trip. Our local Dollar Tree had some modeling clay available and the consistency was perfect. I wish I had...
Arts and Crafts / Must Read / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published July 7, 2014 · Last modified June 23, 2015
It has been very hot here. Here’s a fun indoor activity that only takes 20-30 minutes — Bead Bowls. My girls loved this activity! I first saw this on Erica’s blog, Confessions of a Homeschooler, back last January. (She has lots of awesome ideas-be sure to check out her blog!). I kept this in the back of my mind because I knew it would be a great activity when it was...
Homeschool Den / Outdoor Fun / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published July 2, 2014 · Last modified June 24, 2015
Slip-n-Sliding is really fun when it’s hot out, just as long as there are no water restrictions. For some reason, ED asks all year long when we’re going to go slip-n-sliding… It will be mid-January, snow everywhere and she’ll ask when it’ll be time! This year I promised myself I’d bring it out as soon as it was warm enough. So, we set up the slip-n-slide a week or so...
Outdoor Fun / sports / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 27, 2014 · Last modified June 24, 2015
My kids are the perfect age for introducing them to some of my childhood summer favorites. For some reason, the kids in my neighborhood called this game “Baby in the Air.” I think it’s better known as “spud.” Anyway, whatever the name, the kids really loved it. This is a game that combines catch and dodge ball. We played this with four of us. It seems like 4-6 players would...
Arts and Crafts / Homeschool Den / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 25, 2014 · Last modified January 18, 2015
When I was at camp years ago, we made sun prints using photo paper and photography chemicals. I remember being thrilled to work in the darkroom. This isn’t quite as exotic, but it is a quick and easy version of that with sun sensitive paper… no chemicals needed! We got our paper at Oriental Trading. It was $6.25 per dozen sheets. (Nature Print Sun-Sensitive Paper). I sent the kids outside...
Arts and Crafts / Homeschool Den / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 25, 2014 · Last modified June 24, 2015
When I was at camp years ago, we made sun prints using photo paper and photography chemicals. I remember being thrilled to work in the darkroom. This isn’t quite as exotic, but it is a quick and easy version of that with sun sensitive paper… no chemicals needed! We got our paper at Oriental Trading. It was $6.25 per dozen sheets. (Nature Print Sun-Sensitive Paper). I sent the kids...
Homeschool Den / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 23, 2014 · Last modified June 23, 2015
I’ve seen these activities all over the internet, but we have never given them a try. What a huge, huge hit these two activities were! The bubble solution was easy to make, I just had to make sure I ordered glycerine ahead of time. I mixed up another batch in under than five minutes when we (quickly) ran out of our first bowlful. This is the solution we used: 1...
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...
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...
There are so many amazing activities that kids can do that don’t involve electronics. This is a HUGE list of fun activities that will get your kids ENGAGED! Here are some examples: Cabin Camping, Camp Fire Songs, Candle Making, Candy Making, Candy Tour, Canning, Car Wash, Card Games, Card Making, Cardboard Boat Race, Carnival, Caroling, Cave Tour, Cemetery Walk, Ceramics Mug Pottery Wheel, Challenge Course, Chemistry Day, Chess, China, Chili...
Here are some fun summer activities you might enjoy doing with your kids this summer with everything from making pony-bead lizards and bead bowls to marbleized paper! Have a great summer! ~Liesl A Huge List of Summer Activity Ideas! Nature Scavenger Hunt: Send your kids outside to complete this scavenger hunt! This printable is free! 🙂We also have a photo hunt: Have them take photos of the things on 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.
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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.
