Making Homeschooling Hands-On, Engaging, Meaningful & Memorable! Be inspired by all the possibilities!! Check out our unit studies, packets and printables!
Freebies / Holiday: Halloween / Homeschool Den / Math--Division / Math--Fractions / Math--Multiplication
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published October 28, 2014 · Last modified November 2, 2022
Fun Halloween Freebies (with links to free Halloween printables for younger kids too)! I have made the kids lots and lots of fun math worksheets over the years! Below you’ll find free Halloween PDFs for multiplication and division and for fraction practice. They are free to download if you can use them. Plus, I’ve added in a dozen other Halloween and Fall Freebies you might find helpful… from addition and...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published September 8, 2014 · Last modified September 9, 2023
Last week ED I printed out the daily calendar page I made for her last fall. She filled one out each morning as she needs some review on some of the spellings on the days of the week and we needed to review how to read a thermometer. I printed it out on the back of her daily checklist (You can grab our free homeschool planner with these daily checklists...
Our approach to Kindergarten has changed a lot over the course of this year. We had to add in curriculum and change things up as ED grew and matured this year. ED turned six in February and she was demanding more work… and work that looked more like what her brother and sister were doing. She is such a different student than my oldest! So here are some of the...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 5, 2014 · Last modified September 17, 2018
While we were studying the Yuan Dynasty, we spent quite a bit of time learning about Marco Polo, his travels and his experience in Kublai Khan’s court. To wrap up the unit, the kids tilled out these notebook pages to add to their history notebook. The kids really enjoyed learning about Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan and the adventures of Marco Polo. We didn’t do any projects with this unit, but...
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 23, 2014 · Last modified January 1, 2015
On our way back from the Outer Banks, we decided we would spend a day at Jamestown. This is a reconstruction of the first permanent settlement by the British in the New World. We first saw the film and toured the museum — which was just fabulous! The kids spent a lot more time reading and browsing through the museum than I thought they would (I guess they’re growing up!!)....
One afternoon last week, we decided to do a couple of tours. First, we stopped off at the Currituck Beach Light Station. It is 162 feet and has 220 steps. Construction on it began in 1873 and it was first illuminated in 1875. It still serves as an aid to naviagation, lighting up every 3 seconds and off for 17 seconds throughout the night. The exterior of this lighthouse was...
U.S. students lag far behind in their foreign language capabilities compared to students in much of the world. The U.S. has a lot to learn from these countries. There are so many reasons to learn a foreign language. Learning a foreign language helps increase understanding of other cultures and introduces students to new ideas, customs, habits, and values. Put another way, learning a foreign language increases global understanding. It fosters respect...
Homeschool: Interviews with other Homeschoolers
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published November 8, 2013 · Last modified April 10, 2016
Perspectives from a working (part-time outside the home) homeschooling mom. Since Liesl is still under the weather, here is a guest post from a friend (Disclaimer: I am in no way as amazing a homeschooler as Liesl.) I have been homeschooling my kids since they were 4 and 2, they are now 9 and 11. I have also always worked part time outside the home and I love my profession. ...
Ages 2-6: Preschool (Age 4) / Homeschool Den / Kindergarten / Kindergarten Math / Math General Posts / Math: Preschool Math
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published August 28, 2013 · Last modified October 10, 2016
Yesterday, I shared the free math lapbook I made for my daughter. Depending on your child it may be appropriate for kids between 4 and 6 or so. Today I wanted to share a little bit about how I’m using the calendar pieces. She’s been taking the days of the week from the lapbook and putting them in order She’s then been using these in her daily calendar page. If...
Death and Dying / Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc) / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published December 27, 2012
I wasn’t sure just quite when to share this material with the holidays and all, but I thought it was definitely worth spreading the word about these useful materials. The U.S. Department of Education has put out a number of publications in the past few years on the topics of safety, crime and violence. Personally, I didn’t want to tell the kids about the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut… but...
History: Ancient Aztecs, Incas and Mayans / Homeschool Den
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 15, 2012 · Last modified February 17, 2016
Did you know that more than $90 billion a year is spent on chocolate around the world? On Valentine’s American spend around $700 million on chocolate! These numbers are expected to grow as the population increases and the number of people in the developing world who can afford chocolate increases. Part of our study of the Mayans and Aztecs was to learn a bit more about the history of chocolate. ...
History: American History / History: Ancient Aztecs, Incas and Mayans / Homeschool Den
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published June 11, 2012 · Last modified February 17, 2016
Last week we started a unit about the Aztec and Incas. This is a unit I’ve had ready for more than a year (books gathered, maps and sheets printed and ready for use). LD and DD insisted we dive in (in part because they knew we’d study the history of chocolate along with it!). We started out with a look at the Aztecs. We read this lovely story about the...
History: American History / Homeschool Den / Outdoor Fun / Trips We've Taken
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 31, 2012
Have you heard of the Lost Colony? It’s a mystery that has lasted more than 400 years. We delved a bit into that mystery last week! Roanoke Island Festival Park was an amazing interactive history site. The kids and I spent over six hours learning about the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island. Back in 1587 a second attempt was made by Sir Walter Raleigh to create a lasting settlement in...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc) / Must Read / Technology
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published May 16, 2012
Technology in Education and in your Homeschool (Part 2) Last week I talked about how you can incorporate video, audio and educational apps into your homeschool. This week’s post talks about how your child/student can use tools to create their own projects that use photos, diagrams, audio, visual components including interactive animations, 3D animations and/or video content. Your child can use a wide range of tools to create stunning videos,...
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.
