Making Homeschooling Hands-On, Engaging, Meaningful & Memorable! Be inspired by all the possibilities!! Check out our unit studies, packets and printables!
This morning LD and I decorated skulls. I got this ideafrom artprojectsforkids.org. First, he traced the outlineof a skull from a skeleton puzzle we have. Then he drewthe eyes, nose and mouth. We decorated it symmetricallyand cut it out. Then we put it up on our front door. Ourback-drop paintings are from the paint popping activity we dida few weeks ago.
Another project from artprojectsforkids.org wasthe pasta skeleton . All the kids really enjoyed thisincluding ED who carefully used all of her pastaand beans!
This afternoon DD and I sat down together to put togethera new felt board scene. This is based on Five Little Pumpkins .DD and ED had fun making and remaking the jack-o-lanterns’faces. I read the story several times while DD acted itout on the felt board. I took the picture in the book display area I was mentioningin the post I wrote yesterday about reading (scroll down below). By the...
Arts and Crafts / Holiday: Halloween / Outdoor Fun
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published October 6, 2009
A while back I read about a family who put paint inziploc bags and had the kids jump on them. Nowthat the weather is warming up, we decided to giveit a try. Some of the bags we filled with paint andair; some of them we had paint, vinegar and bakingsoda (to expand the bag). LD was able to pop allthe bags (and the ones without vinegar/bs “lookednicer”), but DD and...
I saw this idea on the Crafty Crow and thought it wouldbe pretty straight forward for the kids. It turned out reallywell! We used 6 1/2 cups fruit (2 1/2 raspberries, 4 cups blueberry)and 3 teaspoons of sugar. We cooked the berries on the stove for 45 minutes.Next we pureed it in the blender.Finally we baked it in the oven on low for 6 hours or so. Here’s the website...
Here’s another flower project we did for our flower unit.
The Crafty Crow mentioned this great flowerproject. You can find more information about how to makethese flowers at —http://filthwizardry.blogspot.com/2009/08/kitchen-paper-and-baby-wipe-kanzashi.html Dry out some diaper wipes. Cut them into a large square.I then cut square into four pieces. Fold the small square into a triangle. Then fold the endsup. Fold and sew the two points and middle section togetherand sew five or six pedals together tightly. Staple the back sides together. Paint...
After letting our cornstarch beads dry for a few days,we painted them and strung them on string to makenecklaces. Here’s the link again to cornstarch clay:http://thehomeschoolden.blogspot.com/2009/09/cornstarch-clay.html
Art for the relatives to admire!! This week I put colored paper and a couple markers inDD’s art workbox. She’s been doing two drawings each day.One day she asked to use the buttons too. Here are a coupleof her creations. The first picture is all one project. Thesecond picture is a picture of her and her brother and sisteralong with the 75 story world tower, where we stayed inSydney (on...
Ages 2-6: Toddler/Preschool Activities / Arts and Crafts
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published October 1, 2009
When we were on holiday the kids saw a showcalled “Playschool.” LD saw how to make alieneyes and yesterday he got all the materials heneeded and made himself and the girls alieneyes. I didn’t help in any way shape or form (noteven to find the glue)… a first!!
ED has really enjoyed painting this past week. She’s gottenher paint shirt and asked to paint numerous times this week. Shedidn’t really get into the marble painting, mostly she likedholding the marble in her hand. Then she laughed and signed“yucky” over and over and over with her bright blue hands!
Ages 2-6: Flower Unit / Ages 2-6: Toddler/Preschool Activities / Arts and Crafts
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published September 28, 2009
When we were in Canberra we went to Floriade, a yearlyflower festival. DD decided that she wanted to do a flowerunit when we got home. Today was our first day of activities.We collected flowers from our yard and from our neighbor’sbeautiful garden (with permission, of course!) We used theflowers to hammer them into cards. They turned out reallypretty and you could use this for a symmetry activity as well.We also...
Ages 2-6: Toddler/Preschool Activities / Arts and Crafts
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published September 28, 2009
Yesterday we made our own cornstarch clay (idea fromhttp://scrumdillydo.blogspot.com/2009/06/clay-prints-in-two-parts.html)I really like the consistancy of the dough (though it’s saltyso I had the kids wash their hands with sorbolene afterthey were done). LD made jets and DD made necklaceornaments. We poked holes in the cutouts with the end ofa paintbrush. Of course, ED enjoyed working with us andpoked holes in her clay! 1 cup cornstarch1 cup baking soda1/2 cup table salt1...
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.
