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 September 7, 2016 · Last modified March 19, 2023
We started our chemistry unit this year with a study of the States of Matter – Solids, Liquids and Gases. Today, I’m going to share four hands-on activities we did about air. We started the unit with a discussion of the states of matter: solids, liquids and gases. The kids had to brainstorm as many examples as they could in two minutes. Then they shared their examples. I then asked...
When we were planning our trip out West, I purchased a book of some of America’s best geological sites. I read about the Crater of Diamonds state park and the kids were beside themselves at the thought of being able to search for *real* diamonds!! This state park is the world’s eighth largest diamond-bearing volcanic crater. We camped in the state park and tried our hand at diamond mining! Many...
Active Math Games / Ages 2-6: Clocks - Telling Time / Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Ages 2-6: Preschool and Toddler Activities / Ages 2-6: Preschool at Home / Homeschool Den / Kindergarten / Kindergarten Math / Math--Addition / Math: Preschool Math / Montessori (general info)
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 10, 2016 · Last modified March 16, 2019
One of our most visited posts through the years has been our place value activities. I thought I would put together a video to share how we covered place value in our homeschool (we did these activities regularly when the kids were roughly 4 to 6 years old. I also have a huge packet of materials (over 100 pages!) that include these hands-on math manipulatives as well as some other...
Ages 2-6: Clocks - Telling Time / Homeschool Den / Kindergarten / Kindergarten Math / Math--Multiplication
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published April 18, 2016 · Last modified December 7, 2020
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...
Homeschool Den / Science / Science: Simple Machines Unit / Videos
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published April 5, 2016 · Last modified September 15, 2020
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) –...
Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Our Homeschool (what our day is like, curriculum choices, etc.) / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / How to Start Homeschooling / Science / Science Experiments / Science: Ocean Unit / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published March 8, 2016
Last week we did some pretty fun science experiments for our ocean unit. We always get so pumped up doing hands-on activities & the salinity experiment was especially impressive. I thought I’d talk a little bit what a big impact these kinds of experiments add to our day… the kids get excited and engaged they ask a lot of good questions the activities and projects are memorable so they often...
Kindergarten / Kindergarten Math / Math--Addition / Math: Preschool Math
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 27, 2016 · Last modified December 5, 2020
I thought it’d be fun to make some addition games for those of you with younger kids. It’s winter out for sure here having just gotten at least two feet of snow, so I chose these cute penguins for the game! There are two different games: a Penguins Doubles Game where the kids roll one die and double the number they roll (1+1, 2+2, 3+3, etc.). My kids learned their doubles...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Homeschool Den / Nature / Science: Biology Unit / Science: Biomes; Animal Habitats / Science: Vertebrates - Invertebrates
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published December 21, 2015 · Last modified February 23, 2024
Animal Unit We have a 100+ page packet all about animals! The Animal Unit covers various topics such as body coverings (feathers, fur, scales, skin), the different types of animals (vertebrates, invertebrates), animal characteristics, insects vs. spiders, domesticated vs. wild animals, animal tracks, animal homes and shelters, herbivores, carnivores & omnivores, and much more! In our animal unit, we spent quite a bit of time on animal classification. First, we...
Homeschool Den / Science: Chemistry Unit
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published December 4, 2015 · Last modified June 26, 2020
Just as we were finishing up our Chemistry Unit on the periodic table, the team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute got in touch with me to see if I would be interested in reviewing and/or hosting a giveaway of their Giant Screen animated film, Molecules to the MAX! This film has just been released on DVD and Blu-Ray. I talked with the kids (and we watched the trailer www.moleculestothemax.com) and decided...
Homeschool Den / Science: Chemistry Unit
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published November 17, 2015 · Last modified March 18, 2023
This semester we did a new unit on chemistry and focused on the Periodic Table. We typically use secular resources, but I previewed Chemistry 101: An Overview of God’s Chemical World over the summer on the recommendation of a close friend. It is a wonderful resource. I found the video to be really well done (the kids really enjoyed it) and while there were a few references religion (especially in...
History: Geography Activities / Homeschool Den / Montessori (general info)
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 10, 2015 · Last modified July 11, 2020
Today I’m going to share some free printable world maps and other images (like the world at night, etc.). These are pages that we’ll be using when we start back up with school again. The beautiful images are from NASA. I especially like the images of Earth and the USA at night. Hope someone finds this useful! ~Liesl Free Printable World Map, Outline Maps You can use the images in the printable...
Highlighting Past Posts / Homeschool Den
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published July 1, 2015 · Last modified June 25, 2015
So, I wanted a bit of alliteration to make a catchy title… and actually had to look up the definition of passel to be sure I was using it correctly. Sure enough, it means “a group or lot of indeterminate number.” Perfect! This post has a collection of posts from the past… and I’m not quite sure how many I’ll wind up highlighting. But why talk about posts from the past?...
History: American Colonies / History: American History / History: Civics, Government and Economics / Homeschool Den
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published March 30, 2015 · Last modified February 22, 2021
This Civics and Government Unit covers the 3 Branches of Government The Constitution & Bill of Rights The Presidential Cabinet Positions How a Bill becomes Law Civics Review (symbols, landmarks) Federal vs. State Governments and more! We are doing a Civics and Government Unit. I made this packet for the kids because I couldn’t find a homeschool unit that covered everything I wanted to include. Not only are we covering the...
Homeschool Den / Lapbooks / Science: Dinosaurs Unit
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published March 2, 2015 · Last modified October 25, 2022
DD had an amazing time with this Dinosaur Unit! She did everything from learning many of the dinosaur’s names, to finding out what they ate, what period they lived in, and a number of dinosaur games along the way! This packet covers 15 dinosaurs: Allosaurus, Ankylosaurs, Apatasaurus, Brachiosaurus, Herrerasaurus (one of the earliest dinosaurs), Iguanodon, Parasaurolophus, Plesiosaurus, Pteranodon, Quetzalcoatlus, Spinosaurus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor. There are Montessori 3-Part cards...
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.
