Here’s a wonderful infographic to help you and your kiddos identify 60 different trees by their fall leaves! The poster (courtesy of MJ Sales Umbrellas, which is no longer online but had a surprisingly helpful blog) helps kids learn about simple versus compound leaves, palmate versus pinnate leaves, and lobed versus not lobed leaves (see […]
Here’s a wonderful freebie for your nature studies. The Cornell Institute of Ornithology offers its 12 page BirdSleuth Explorer’s Guidebook absolutely free to download and print. The full color booklet includes lots of great stuff for identifying birds, including some fun activities and worksheets to fill out. Pages include: Wake up your ears What’s a […]
Forest schools and other outdoor learning environments are becoming increasingly popular, not just in the United Kingdom but in the U.S. and around the world. A Year of Forest School: Outdoor Play and Skill-building Fun for Every Season, by Jane Worrell and Peter Houghton, gives parents and teachers ideas for nearly 40 seasonal activities suitable […]
Fall is right around the corner and there are so many wonderful ways to learn with this season. Here’s one fun way to do math with fall nature items, from my book, A Magical Homeschool: Nature Studies (52 Wonderful Ways to Use Nature Studies in Every Season to Teach Science, Math, Art and More). Nature […]
If you’re going to be having turkey this Thanksgiving, here’s a great way to make use of those bones afterwards. Make bendable bones! This simple science experiment teaches kids the importance of calcium — and is also just really cool. Here’s what you need: A jar large enough to hold a chicken or turkey […]
Here’s a wonderful way to teach your little ones about weather. Mr. Printables has created a delightful printable weather station that is available for download absolutely free! Mr. Printables says: What’s the weather like where you are? Create your very own neat printable weather station to hang on your wall and report today’s weather like […]
Here’s a sweet freebie to help with your child’s nature studies. Hobby Farms offers these printable bird sighting sheets to print out. They say: Use this bird-sighting chart to document what birds are nesting around your home and when you see them. When your chart is full of feathered creatures, print yourself another page! The […]
Teaching kids about Thanksgiving was easy in the old days. They were told sweet stories about pumpkin pie and friendship and gratitude. They did some pilgrim and Indian crafts and everybody (or almost everybody) felt happy. Things got more difficult once we started learning more about the real history of Thanksgiving. We found out […]
Want to work Thanksgiving into some of your homeschooling fun this week? Here are eight ways to incorporate grammar, creative writing and other language arts lessons into the holiday. Do a Thanksgiving mad lib. Here’s another. These are a great way to learn parts of speech! Challenge the kids to see how many words they […]
It’s a brand new month, and one that’s brimming with opportunities for science and nature activities. Here’s five fabulous ways to take advantage of the season this month. Take part in the Handbook of Nature Study’s Signs of Autumn Art/Nature Journal Study. Look for signs of autumn like dry grass or weeds, birds overhead or […]
It’s a brand new month, and there are lots of new opportunities for science and nature study with the kids. Here are five fun ways to incorporate these subjects in your homeschooling this month. Make seed pod and pine cone bird feeders. We’ve all seen the pine cone and peanut butter type of bird feeder […]
Ever wonder what makes a turkey timer pop up? What’s the difference between a yam and a sweet potato? How can you make bones rubbery? I’ve rounded up ten fun ways to incorporate science in your turkey day. Learn with turkey timers! Here’s a simple explanation of the science behind turkey timers. (Extension: take apart […]