Making Homeschooling Hands-On, Engaging, Meaningful & Memorable! Be inspired by all the possibilities!! Check out our unit studies, packets and printables!
Homeschool Den / Science / Science: Astronomy Unit
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published July 13, 2015 · Last modified September 5, 2018
We are all pretty excited about the fly-by of Pluto. We get pretty excited about space and science over here and I thought I’d share a few of the really cool things we’ve learned. On Tuesday (July 14), the US spacecraft, New Horizons, will fly by Pluto. It will come closest on Tuesday morning — at 7:49 a.m. EDT. The fly-by will last for just 8 to 10 hours. It will...
History and World Cultures Units / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / How to Start Homeschooling / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 4, 2015 · Last modified May 6, 2023
Today I’m sharing the history checklist, not only of some of the basic units I hope we cover K-8, but also of some of the historical skills I want the kids to start to master and some of the activities that can make history really come alive for them. In the early years, it’s easy to make history fun with hands-on projects… We have grown the Nile River Valley and made...
Arts and Crafts / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc) / Summer Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 1, 2015 · Last modified April 23, 2021
I typed up a list of more than 350 activities, projects, trip ideas, and patches the kids can work on this summer. When I handed these pages to the kids you should have seen them pour through the list! Their eyes nearly popped out of their heads, they were so excited! Each of the items on this list have patches that scouts (and others!) can earn. But let’s face it, it’s just...
Homeschool Den / Science: Human Body Unit
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 18, 2015 · Last modified February 21, 2022
90+ Page Skeletal System Packet! This 90+ page packet covers the following topics: Identify the bones of the body Basic functions of the skeletal system (support, protection, assistance in movement, the storage and release of minerals, blood cell reproduction), How bones grow and repair themselves, bone remodeling, bone marrow, and the spine Bones and Cartilage Activity How the skeletal system is divided (axial and appendicular skeleton) Types of Joints Bone disorders Note: This was...
Homeschool Den / Language Arts - Grammar Worksheets / Language Arts: Writing
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 14, 2015 · Last modified May 16, 2015
What skills do I want the kids to have in order to become successful writers? For this post, I shared a list of some of the language and literary skills I want the kids to build in elementary and middle school. These are topics and terms I want the kids to be familiar with. As they get older I hope they are able to use and incorporate these naturally into their own...
Yesterday we ordered the standardized tests we’ll take to fulfill the homeschool requirements of our state. We used Brewer Testing Service because of the ease of ordering. Their customer service has been excellent. (I’ll tell you more about that below.) This year, all three of my kids will be testing. They will be taking different tests: First Grade: I am having ED take the Terra Nova Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills....
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published April 15, 2015 · Last modified November 2, 2022
We are beginning our human body unit and have started with a discussion of how the human body is organized… from cells, tissues, organs and systems. As many of you know, we did a unit on cells where we studied the organelles and their function, how proteins are made, eukaryotic vs. prokaryotic cells, animal vs. plant cells, and we ended with a look at how some human body cells are...
Science: Cell Unit / Science: Chemistry Unit / Science: Garden Science / Science: Plant Unit
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published March 20, 2015 · Last modified April 2, 2021
This week we spent a few days talking about photosynthesis. We covered the basic differences between plant and animal cells last week and I wanted to briefly talk about the process of photosynthesis before moving on to our Human Body unit. Some of the things we talked about included as we learned about the process of photosynthesis: parts of the plant, plant cells and the plant organelles, what is needed for...
Homeschool Den / Science / Science: Cell Unit / Science: Garden Science / Science: Plant Unit
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published March 10, 2015 · Last modified March 23, 2023
This Cell Unit Packet is over 100 pages and includes worksheets, interactive notebook pages and even a “Build Your Cell” game! We have had such an amazing time with this cell unit. The goal has been not only to help the kids learn the parts of the cells (organelles), their function, and the difference between animal and plant cells, but also to understand the process of protein synthesis (on a...
Homeschool Den / Language Arts: Writing
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 27, 2015 · Last modified February 26, 2015
How are we introducing note taking and research skills into our homeschool? One skill that middle and high school students (and beyond!) need is the ability to take notes–either by picking out important key points from books and resources they read or from listening to a speaker or lecturer. In the elementary years, I’ve slowly been trying to help the kids build these skills. I wanted to write this post...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc) / How to Start Homeschooling / Starting to Homeschool
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published February 23, 2015
Homeschool Resources: Today I have several great resources for you. The first is a new page of some of the books we use in our homeschool. You’ll see that new button in the left side bar. I hope to keep a fairly current list of recommended books from different subject areas (history, science, language arts, math & critical thinking, art). How to Find Homeschool Curriculum: Since the list above is mostly just...
Homeschool Den / Science: Earth Science Unit / Science: Natural Disasters Unit and Activities
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 23, 2015 · Last modified August 23, 2018
We have two hands-on volcano activities to share with you today; the gelatin activity was especially cool once we realized our mistake! Both of them help demonstrate how the release of pressure causes lava to flow. We had already spent a lot of time learning about plate tectonics. Earth’s volcanoes are generally found where Earth’s plates are expanding or converging. We looked closely at the parts of the volcano and...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 17, 2015 · Last modified December 27, 2018
Welcome! If you are on this page, then you are considering homeschooling as an option for your child/children or have already started! I’m so excited for you! Our family has been homeschooling basically from the start. We found that homeschooling works extremely well for our family. We love all the hands-on projects we can do and I love how I can tailor each of the kids’ education to exactly what they...
Critical Thinking Activities / Homeschool Den / Math General Posts
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published January 12, 2015 · Last modified January 2, 2020
A few days ago, I mentioned that we started back into homeschooling with Math Circles rather than jumping into our “normal” math curriculum. What are math circles? From what I understand, they started in Russia where they hosted math contests. Students competed to answer various word problems. The contest itself was designed to get students intrigued and excited about mathematics. There’s something similar here in the US called the Math Olympiad....
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.
