Making Homeschooling Hands-On, Engaging, Meaningful & Memorable! Be inspired by all the possibilities!! Check out our unit studies, packets and printables!
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published November 19, 2013 · Last modified April 10, 2016
Life is so busy in the evenings as I drive the kids where they need to be for their sports, scouts and play dates that I rely on my crockpot a lot. This is a wonderful soup with a tangy flavor that my kids all like as well: 1 1/2 -2 cups dry lentils — soaked in water for 1 1/2 hours, then rinsed prior to adding to the...
Lots of schools and other places are requiring nut-free snacks. LD’s gym suggested this website as a helpful place to find snacks that are free of nuts, tree nuts and eggs: snacksafely.com. It’s a list of the purchased types snacks. I personally wish the list had started out (in big bold letters) things like sliced apples, baby carrots, snap peas — you know the fresh fruits and veggies that should be...
Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Mom Stories / Recipes
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 24, 2013
After we got back from our Colorado trip, LD had a birthday. It’s hard to believe he is now 10! As many of you know — and some of you probably don’t — LD and DD are IVF babies (not ED, though!!! She was our surprise baby!). We had trouble getting pregnant and there didn’t seem to be much of a cause for it. Oh my goodness, what a stressful,...
Most of our activities take place in the evening which leaves me scrambling for a meal unless it’s done ahead of time. I’ve been a bit tired of our old standbys and gave this recipe a try. Everyone in the family loved it! It’s definitely a keeper! Ingredients: 2 Tablespoons olive oil 1 cup sliced leek (the white and light green parts–washed well) 2 finely chopped garlic cloves 1 cup...
Nature / Outdoor Fun / Recipes / Science: Garden Science
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published July 5, 2013
It was dreadfully hot, but after dropping LD off at his day camp the girls and I headed off to a u-pick farm. In just an hour and a half we picked 4 huge containers of blueberries!! I love that this farm doesn’t spray their berries. What did we do with 20 pounds of blueberries? Well, we made 9 jars (3 batches) of blueberry jam… It’s easy to do you just...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 29, 2013 · Last modified March 16, 2016
With watermelons in season, we’ll have some with our 4th of July barbecue. Sometimes when we get a big melon there’s more than we can eat in one sitting. The kids love when I freeze the watermelon and bring it out as a frozen treat. We use cookie cutters and then put it on a meat skewer. You could also use clean Popsicle sticks. The picture above is before they...
Just before the rain turned our gardens into mini-swamps yesterday, the kids and I went out and picked three enormous bowls of strawberries. Time to make strawberry jam! It is so easy to make, I wanted to write about it again this year. To make strawberry jam: Using a potato masher, crush the strawberries and pour five cups into a large saucepan. Add Sure Jell gelatin and heat over high...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 25, 2013 · Last modified March 26, 2016
A few years ago, my kids really liked Nutrigrain bars. I hunted for a recipe that would approximate the store-bought bars, but that I could guarantee weren’t full of preservatives. I make these about once every 6 weeks or so and they get eaten very quickly in our household! In a mixing bowl mix well: 1 cup butter (softened for 30 seconds in microwave) 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup...
Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read / Recipes
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published April 28, 2013
I just read about the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge and wanted to spread the word! Does your child like to cook? Kids ages 8-12 can submit original recipes to win tickets to a state dinner at the White House to eat some of these winning dishes with first lady, Michelle Obama. The challenge is to create healthy recipes that include the five food groups either in one dish or in one...
Homeschool Den / Must Read / Recipes
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published April 6, 2013 · Last modified April 10, 2016
My sister has never, ever bought a box-mix of brownies. Can you believe it? With this recipe, you can see why! The kids are able to make this on their own now without any help from me… Now I’ll pass it along to you if you like baking with your kids! The only unusual ingredient that you might not have on hand is baker’s chocolate — in powder form (pictured...
History: Africa Unit / Recipes
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 26, 2013 · Last modified April 6, 2016
As you probably know, the kids are studying world cultures this semester and the focus has been on Africa. Last week, the kids and I made several African and Middle Eastern dishes for dinner. We used the Kids Multicultural Cookbook and Cooking up World History for ideas. We made korma chicken (we added broccoli) with rice: The next night we made almond soup and Moroccan couscous. The almond soup was very, very...
Holiday: Christmas Activities / Homeschool Den / Must Read / Recipes
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published December 22, 2012
Do you have any special sweets you make this time of year? Our family has some old traditions and some new. I’d like to share two of the easiest cookies we make this time of year: One of our new additions is from Aunt M… we love this recipe and it is so easy! We’ve altered her original recipe slightly: 1 cup butter 2 cups flour (I actually use 1/2...
Holiday: Halloween / Homeschool Den / Must Read / Recipes
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published October 27, 2012 · Last modified October 25, 2018
When we lived in Australia, we couldn’t buy candy corn. I looked around for a recipe and found something online that has worked well. Now it’s become our family tradition to make our own candy corn each fall! Here’s how we made it: We put these 3 ingredients in a saucepan: 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 cup corn syrup 2 1/2 Tablespoons butter As soon as I turned the stove on...
Over the weekend we had a barbecue for friends. One family is vegan and I tried a new recipe that I thought they could eat. It was so simple to make and delicious that I thought I’d share it here. Why not, right?! Homeschoolers eat too! Since I was making other Mexican dishes I used half a can each of black beans and kidney beans. The original recipe called for one full...
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.
