Making Homeschooling Hands-On, Engaging, Meaningful & Memorable! Be inspired by all the possibilities!! Check out our unit studies, packets and printables!
It has been quite a while since I last talked about music in our homeschool. Things are going really well for the kids. Right now we’re using a number of fun Christmas music activities to help the girls learn the notes and symbols. We’ve been playing Susan Paradis’ Christmas Light Bingo to keep reviewing the various music symbols: Although ED learns to play pieces pretty quickly on the piano, she...
Homeschool Den / Science: Biomes; Animal Habitats / Science: Earth Science Unit / Science: Ocean Unit
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published December 8, 2015 · Last modified September 3, 2020
As we start off our new science units, I wanted to be sure the kids remembered Earth’s 4 major systems (or ecospheres): atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere. We spent several days just reviewing these four Earth Systems in a general way. You know me, I also made the kids some notebook pages and review cards to go along with our discussion! I thought it might be helpful for some of you...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Homeschool Den / Kindergarten Math / Math General Posts / Math--Addition / Math: Preschool Math
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published December 7, 2015 · Last modified February 24, 2017
I have a ton of math activities and free resources to share with you in this post! We started working on Place Value when my kids were about 4. We came across some free Montessori materials and used them for years and years. I thought I would spend a little time highlighting these activities again because I know they’ve gotten a lot of hits through the years. These activities are...
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 / Homeschool Encouragement / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc)
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published December 3, 2015 · Last modified December 2, 2015
We all want those things in our homeschool or classroom, right?! In this series, Thoughts on Teaching, I’ve been diving into some of the deeper issues we have as educators. How do we create an environment that helps students blossom and reach their full potential? Today I’m going to talk about the fear of failure and the struggle that can create for some students. In some ways, I notice that...
Holiday: Christmas Activities / Holiday: Thanksgiving / Homeschool Den / Recipes
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published December 1, 2015 · Last modified November 21, 2015
This is another recipe our family has made for a long time. My Mom got it from a colleague at work years ago. It was in our old tattered family recipe box as “Coconut Yummy Bars.” The kids love these and they are really quick to make. Again, this is something a bring only if I know that it is acceptable to bring desserts with nuts in them. Melt 1...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published December 1, 2015 · Last modified November 30, 2015
I think I mentioned a week or two ago that we are not doing a traditional Advent Calendar this year. Instead, our family is going to do some giving… Giving of kind words that is! Each of us in the family has chosen a day (Monday through Friday) to be our day to receive uplifting mail. Today (Tuesday) is LD’s day. At some point during the day the rest of...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published November 30, 2015 · Last modified July 7, 2021
Multiplication Facts for the 4s and 9s (and more!)! As my daughter moved into learning her multiplication facts I looked around for the kind of multiplication practice that would help her. The math book she was using went through the math facts a bit too quickly for her. She needed quite a bit of repetition and wanted bright, colorful worksheets. I wound up making my own sets of practice pages...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published November 30, 2015 · Last modified November 24, 2015
Oil and Water Fireworks! This is such a fun and simple science activity! This has impressed the kids since they were toddlers… and is helpful for kids studying chemistry to understand the different densities of liquids. Just take a clear glass, fill it with water. Add some vegetable oil. Carefully, have the kids place a few drops of food dye in various spots around the oil. Wait for a few...
History: Civil Rights Movement / Homeschool Den
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published November 29, 2015 · Last modified January 14, 2019
Today I wanted to share some of the books, movies, and worksheets we used when we studied the Civil Rights Movement. Exactly sixty years ago, Dec. 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and other efforts to end segregation in the South. These are some of the resources we used when learning about Rosa Parks...
Dear Readers, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I have so much to be thankful for this year. It has a been an amazing year. Of course, at the very top of my list is my family. My kids and my incredible Hubby are my world; they make me laugh, inspire me, and make each day an adventure! My heart swells with pride and gratefulness to...
Games for Thinking and Learning / Holiday: Christmas Activities / Homeschool Den
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published November 25, 2015 · Last modified October 31, 2017
We play a lot of games and with the holidays coming up, I thought I would highlight some of our favorites. DD absolutely *loves* board games so we have a huge selection of card games and board games in our cabinets! I’m going to start with a couple of games that we use regularly in our homeschool, then will highlight some of the games we love pulling out for family...
Holiday: Christmas Activities / Holiday: Thanksgiving / Recipes
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published November 24, 2015 · Last modified April 10, 2016
I have been making these peanut butter bars since high school and really haven’t ever seen them around. When I bring these everyone raves about them! They tend to be one of my stand-by desserts if it is a function where I know peanut butter is acceptable. Peanut Butter Bar Recipe: Ingredients: 1 cup crunchy peanut butter 2/3 cup butter 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups firmly packed brown sugar 3...
Holiday: Christmas Activities / Holiday: New Years / Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Organizing and Cleaning / Homeschool: Planning and Preparation
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published November 23, 2015
The holiday season is here! This time of year, I really have to keep a close eye on our calendar and plan things out in advance to help keep the stress (and extra errands/shopping) to a minimum. At the same time, I want to make sure we schedule in the fun traditions that make this season special for our family. That takes some planning and organization, especially since we continue...
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.
