Making Homeschooling Hands-On, Engaging, Meaningful & Memorable! Be inspired by all the possibilities!! Check out our unit studies, packets and printables!
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Homeschool Den / Must Read / Science / Science: Vertebrates - Invertebrates
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 21, 2013 · Last modified March 29, 2016
Once we went over the classification of animals (I shared that post and our Montessori Activities here), we got into the exciting hands-on stuff! We looked at earthworms and a type of flatworm called Planarian. There are some interesting differences in their body systems so we spent time comparing the two. Our first step was to go out to the garden and find ourselves some earthworms. It was chilly out...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Homeschool Den / Language Arts: Reading / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 19, 2013 · Last modified March 16, 2016
We read a lot of books here at the Homeschool Den. I thought I would highlight some of our current favorites. The girls have actually been reading a lot of the same books. I’ve been reading to the girls together at night and more often than not, DD climbs into my lap in front of the wood stove in the mornings when I’m reading to ED! The girls are 4...
Freebies / Homeschool Den / Language Arts - Grammar Worksheets / Language Arts: Spelling / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 17, 2013 · Last modified January 3, 2020
I made this spelling review sheet for the /er/ sound. We use All About Spelling Program (affiliate link) (which we love, love, love!) and this goes along with several of the lessons from books 2 and 3. Spelling has never come naturally to LD in particular, so he needs a bit more review from time to time. Feel free to download this for your child/students! Spelling: sound /er/ — er...
We’re looking for some great blogs that you think will inspire Parents readers! Do you have a favorite blog? Do you write a blog? Do you have a blog that pushes you to be a better person, touches you, has helped you reach your goals? We want your nominations — not mine, of course– but other blogs that truly inspire you!! Between now and January 27th we’d like you to...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Homeschool Den / Must Read / Science / Science Experiments / Science: Human Body Unit / Science: Vertebrates - Invertebrates
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 15, 2013 · Last modified September 23, 2022
Continuing on with our vertebrate-invertebrate unit… One day last week we learned a bit about the backbone and nervous system. We talked about the importance and function of the vertebrae and did some activities to explore how/why the vertebrae work. The kids liked this almost as much as they liked Harold (when we did the circulatory system)! Here’s a picture of vertebrae man–then I’ll explain what we did… I made...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Homeschool Den / Montessori (general info) / Must Read / Science / Science Experiments / Science: Vertebrates - Invertebrates
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 14, 2013 · Last modified March 16, 2016
Homeschooling is so great because you can be flexible and go with the flow when the need arises! We were all prepared to start school with a unit on rocks when my wonderful homeschooling friend offered to give us some flatworms called Planarian. Her family had studied them and their amazing properties. We jumped at the chance to do something new and delved into a week-long study of invertebrates. It...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Homeschooling in the News / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 12, 2013 · Last modified March 16, 2016
Because of the holidays I missed this article about homeschooling in The Economist until today. The article explains that homeschooling has increased dramatically over the past thirty years. One thing I didn’t realize is that there are about as many homeschooled students now (estimated to be about 2 million) as there are students who attend charter schools. Another interesting statistic I hadn’t heard was, ” In 2007 a report found that...
Active Math Games / Freebies / Homeschool Den / Math General Posts / Math--Fractions / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 11, 2013 · Last modified March 16, 2016
I made a set of equivalent fraction cards. LD has to figure out the correct answer and then moves that many spaces on our homemade Fast Track Gameboard. You can download these Equivalent Fraction Cards (pokemon-theme) here. They are free to download. 🙂 We made our own gameboard years ago and still have it tucked in the corner to pull out! This was an idea I got from the wonderful book, Games for...
Freebies / German / Homeschool Den / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 10, 2013 · Last modified February 9, 2020
Last semester, we spent time reading simple stories together in German. There are a couple of stories we downloaded from Amazon, Peter und das Huhn and Der Kartoffel-troll. We read them aloud together and I had the kids do a few activities related to those stories. Peter und das Huhn ($0.99) is considerably easier than any of the stories in Der Kartoffeltroll ($1.50), but the kids enjoyed them both. We still regularly read...
Freebies / Homeschool Den / Math General Posts / Math--Multiplication / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 9, 2013 · Last modified March 23, 2017
DD is learning her multiplication tables. Yesterday, I shared the multiplication practice worksheets I made for her in the Pokemon theme. I made her some cards with some of her beloved Pokemon characters. I’ll share it here in case anyone else is interested! Click here to download the Pokemon Multiplication Cards We’ll use these cards to play a game called Fast Track that we made years ago. This was an idea...
Freebies / Homeschool Den / Math General Posts / Math--Multiplication / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 6, 2013 · Last modified March 16, 2016
I asked DD to choose a few of her favorite Pokemon characters and used these to add a little flavor to her multiplication practice sheets. If anyone is interested, you can download and print them off for your own kids. Multiplication Practice Sheets 3s through 6s (Pokemon) DD has been using a bunch of different resources in starting to learn her multiplication tables. She still has another page left of...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Ages 2-6: Theme Time (age 2-4) / Homeschool Den / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 5, 2013 · Last modified March 16, 2016
Over the break, I wanted to pull together a fun packet for ED with activities she can (mostly) do on her own when I’m working with the other kids. I settled on a winter-relating unit– snowmen, snowflakes and things like that. Here are some of the resources I pulled together for her: When I want to find some preschool resources for ED, here are some of the first websites I...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Our Homeschool (what our day is like, curriculum choices, etc.) / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 4, 2013
I spent a lot of time over our winter break thinking about what we will cover this spring. Our kids are in grades 4, 2 and preschool although as homeschoolers this doesn’t mean much as they cover what they are ready for and go at their own individual paces. I wrote up a general set of plans and you can take a glimpse at what is in store for our family....
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 3, 2013
I was touched by a Random Act of Kindness today!! With Grams and Gramps still visiting, I wanted to have a special “date” with each of the kids on their own. ED and I went out for breakfast. We giggled and played tic-tac-toe and talked… and when it came time to pay, someone had already paid for our meal!! Isn’t that just the loveliest thing?!! Thank you, kind stranger! It...
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.
