Parents, teachers, and students are joining together to celebrate the joy of reading across the nation on March 2, this year's official Read Across America Day. This nationwide observance coincides with the birthday of Dr. Seuss. So let's have some FUN with reading!
Homeschool Sharehas some Seusstastic units! There are several to choose from so make sure to take a peek at their fantastic FREE resources.
This SeussationalFREE20-page activity booklet is full of lots of rhyming games, easy addition, and other activities to keep little ones happy. Tip: If you don't want to print it, just download it and complete it aloud together on a tablet device.
This week's segment on Fox 4's Mom Squad was onTesting Tips. In this program, I share some simple ways parents can help their children perform at the best of their ability on tests. Some of these brain-boosting tips may surprise you!
Here are some awesome labels that my friend Shannon made. These are perfect for attaching a special treat to after testing. Click here to visit her site and print these sweet notes of encouragement for your kids.
Enjoy these brain-boosting tips!
Want more Mom Squad tips? Click Here for Money-Saving Tips.
President's Day is quickly approaching so here are some ways you can make it meaningful and FUN!
My kids like to write a letter to the president using these recommendations. They were thrilled to receive this packet back.
Notice there were interesting facts about the history of the White House, including a colorful map, and lots of other goodies, even a photo of the president's dog. The kids loved reading everything. Shhh! Don't tell them that they were learning during their letter writing assignment and while reading all the great information that was sent to them. They were having too much fun. :)
I am using some of the terrific free printables from Education.com to make "fun learning packets" on President's Day.
My incredible friend Shannon at Technology Rocks Seriouslyhas seriously done it again! She created another site with her top picks of President's Day sites, games, videos, printables, and apps.President's Day Funis a BIG time-saver for me trying to find the best resources on-line, and I'm at peace knowing a mom/teacher has already reviewed the sites to see which ones are kid-friendly. My kids will be having some fun on this new site learning about the presidents.
I'm excited to share one of my family's favorite desserts with you, which is perfect for President's Day since it has lots of cherries. (See George's Washington's story about the cherry tree. I don't know if that legend is true or not, but I like to celebrate honesty anytime I can.)
This dessert is called "Dump Cake" since all you do is dump ingredients and spread them out into layers. There is no mixing involved. My kids make this all by themselves since it is incredibly easy. It takes likes a cobbler-cake combination and makes a delicious warm dessert. Side note: this is one of the top requested desserts that people like me to bring to get-togethers, and we also make it every year on Christmas. Yes, it's that good!
Cherry-Pineapple Dump Cake
1 (20 ounces) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 (21 ounces) can cherry pie
filling
1 (18.25 ounces) box yellow cake mix
1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter or margarine, each cut into 12
slices
4 oz. shredded coconut
Use a standard baking pan. Remember there is no mixing in this recipe. You will only be making layers. First, spread pineapple (undrained) on the bottom. Second, spoon out and spread the cherry pie filling. Third, carefully sprinkle the cake mix. (I only use about 3/4 of the box.) Next, place the butter slices over the top. Last, sprinkle coconut on the top. (I use about 4 oz. but you can add more if your family likes coconut a lot.) I have also seen people add nuts to the top, too. Bake for 350 uncovered for about 45-50 minutes. Remove when the top looks light brown. Serve with ice ream and whipped cream. Be prepared to make it again and again after your family takes a bite!
Valentine's Day is almost here and my kids are super excited for the FUN activities we have planned for next week. Each day of the week I will be creating small packets of Valentine's printables for independent review activities. My kids ♥ taking a break from their regular assignments, yet they are still learning and reviewing concepts so it's a win-win for all!
Education.com has my favorite collection of free worksheets, printables, and games.
Recently we've been learning about using details and lots of descriptive adjectives in our writing assignments, so I added several of these types of worksheets in their "fun packets" next week.
They even have Valentine's cards, too!
I thought these Valentine's lollipop flowers were precious! I will be giving these to my Kid's Club group that meets weekly in my home.
We will also be making heart shape poems (under theme- celebrations),
This month we've been completing lots of physical science lessons that my kids do not want to put down. I just love it when they are hooked on learning!
My kids have been learning all about simple machines, matter, and electricity from the best science teachers at the Edison Home. What better place to learn about science than Edison's home! A big thank you to the wild wizards there! They did a super job setting the stage for further science lessons.
As you may already know, I REALLY like hands-on learning because those are the lessons that make learning stick. Watching fantastic videos, creating fun projects, reading great books, and of course, edible lessons are totally my thing so here are some highlights of our awesome physical science lessons.
We watched Bill Nye, The Science Guy teach about Atoms in this great video!
The kids used cereal to model the different spacing of atoms in matter.
We made a 3-D atom using an orange, candy, and toothpicks. I got the idea from this creative teacher below. Very cool!
Here my boys are watching the video that is mentioned above. I like how the teacher taught about protons and neutrons being the seeds inside the nucleus (the orange).
The teacher in the video had them make negatively charged and positively charged atoms. This was challenging for them but I liked how they were practicing those critical thinking skills.
I was on a quest to make an edible atom. I searched on-line way too long and found nothing that I really liked so I decided to make an atom cookie cake. Since my family loves cookie cake, I knew this would be a big hit. You should have seen my kids faces when I said, "Let's make a cookie cake for science today." They thought I was kidding.
While designing our edible atom, I discussed how the numbers of the neutrons and protons are the same in the nucleus, so they took turns adding the colored protons and neutrons (M&Ms) making sure they were the same number. They boys wanted a negatively charge atom so they added more electrons than protons.
When we were creating the atom, one of my sons exclaimed, "Oh, now I get it! That is why Jimmy "Neutron" has that symbol." I thought that was cute.
I can't believe how much learning took place during this lesson. My oldest son said it was his favorite science lesson EVER. That made me smile. :)
Update: A sweet reader commented below that the number of neutrons is calculated by subtracting the atomic number (number of protons) from the mass number. Thanks Carol!
We built molecules from gumdrops using a periodic table. This is such a terrific hands-on activity for kids to really grasp the concept of how molecules are made of atoms.
I also had my kids memorize the parts of an atom using this mnemonic trick.
This poster is from my Mnemonics Packet, which includes the most common mnemonic devices I have used in twenty years of teaching.
Kids just LOVE Snap Circuits Jr.that teaches about electricity! My kids take this set out every summer during their free time to play with it. I've even bought a bunch for gifts because they are always a hit.
Magnetic Magic is a great hands-on books filled with really neat facts about magnets, as well as tips on using magnets to perform magic tricks. Talk about capturing a child's attention!
We conducted all sorts of experiments this week. We balanced magnets on sticks and pencils with repelling poles. We made paper clips fly. We tested things around our home to see what was magnetic. We played a racing game with a magnet under a paper maze and guided a paperclip figure through the maze.
I completely forgot about our Gears! Gears! Gears! Beginner's Building Set. I had purchase this set for my boys as a Christmas gift a few years ago. Yes, I am one of those moms who like to sneak in educational gifts anytime I get the chance. My kids don't seem to mind.☺ When I was finished reading to them about simple machines for our science lesson, I saw my boys in their room constructing gears for at least an hour. Even my toddler joined in! I love it when my kids' curiosity is peaked and they want to continue lessons on their own without any encouragement from me.
My boys could not stop playing the game, Tinker Ball. They thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of using different simple machines to get the ball in the hole.
I have not used any textbooks in homeschooling. Probably because I thought they were SO boring when I taught school. I'd rather use high-interest books to teach concepts instead. I have also used these science magazinesdue to all the colorful images and photos. Below are the ones I used for physical science in the upper elementary grades. I also reuse these magazines in high school. (Note: There are occasional references to evolution so I skip those sections.)
To observe physical and chemical changes we made s'mores. Yes, I wrote that! :)
The chemical changes are burning the marshmallow and eating the s'more. The physical changes are breaking the graham cracker and melting the chocolate.
We learned about acids and bases. This was my favorite science lesson when I taught fourth grade. Kids always enjoy testing substances with litmus paper. We tested 10 substances from around our home: milk, toothpaste, cream of tarter, laundry detergent, water, vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, egg white, and Tums. I liked watching them make predictions and test them. They got so excited when their predictions were correct.
We topped off the physical science unit with a close look at one of the most famous inventors of all time.
that teaches about electricity! My kids take this set out every summer during their free time to play with it. I've even bought a bunch for gifts because they are always a hit.
is a great hands-on books filled with really neat facts about magnets, as well as tips on using magnets to perform magic tricks. Talk about capturing a child's attention!
