Here’s a fun science experiment to do with the kids that’s quick, educational and involves things you probably already have at home. Best of all, it’s really fun! I found the directions here but this experiment can be found all over the internet. This is a messy experiment that would be well suited for outside, […]
Category: Summer science
Free Printable Bird Guide
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 […]
Should you homeschool through the summer?
One of the great things about homeschooling is that you can do it in the ways that fit your family’s needs. You can choose how to homeschool, what to use and when to do it. That said, what’s the best way to approach the summer months? There are many good reasons to continue homeschooling through […]
Print out a FREE weather station for the kids!
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 […]
Free bird sighting log sheets!
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 […]
Ant Science! STEM Activities Using Ants for Educational Summer Fun
The ants are out for the summer and making pests of themselves around some homes. Why not take advantage of their presence to do some fun educational projects outside? From ant mazes to taste tests (for the ants, not the kids!), there are all kinds of fun STEM projects you can design to use some […]
Naturally raising monarch butterflies in your homeschool
Raising monarch butterflies from caterpillar eggs has been one of the most magical ways that we’ve done nature studies in our homeschool for many summers. Some families order butterfly kits through the mail, but we’ve filled our yard with lots of plants that butterflies need at various parts of their life cycles so that they’ll […]
99 More things to do by the end of the summer!
Following up on my 101 things to do this summer, here are 99 more fun, educational and just plain neat things to do with the kids before fall sets in. From preschoolers to high schoolers, there are activities for everybody. Write a letter to the editor. Cook with some sort of edible wild food, such […]
Summer science fun
Summer is in full swing and it’s the perfect time to start up a little outdoor summer science. Don’t worry, this kind of science fun doesn’t require much on your part at all! Here’s all you need to get your kiddos experimenting, making concoctions and learning along the way. Test hypotheses. You hear all sorts […]
Make a summer bucket list!
101 things to do this summer
Have you made your summer bucket list yet? If you need a little inspiration, here’s our list from 2010 of 101 fun, educational, sentimental and silly things to do over the summer. Catch fireflies Take part in the library reading program Dance in the rain Master the multiplication tables Read the Little House series together […]
5 Fun Ways to Enjoy Nature Studies in June
June is such a beautiful month that it’s nearly immoral to spend too much of it inside! Here are some fun ways to take the learning outside this month and have a great time doing it. Grow some gladiolas. Glads are wonderful flowers for children. They’re easy to grow, colorful, inexpensive, and don’t take much […]
Learn and craft about fireflies!
Fireflies offer the perfect blend of science, nature, fun and magic. This is the perfect time of year to study them, too, and do some firefly crafts with the kids. Here are all sorts of ways to study these fascinating little insects and have some fun. Firefly.org is the perfect spot to start your firefly […]
Peony science! Delay blooms, make color-changing jelly and more
When the peonies bloom in early summer, it’s a great opportunity to do some summer science with the kids. Here are some fantastic ways to do nature studies and learn all sorts of science concepts with these beautiful flowers. Keep them from blooming in the refrigerator for over a month! There are lots of sites […]
Print out free animal track ID cards!
Here’s a wonderful resource for your nature studies. Hobby Farms is offering free, colorful animal track ID cards that you can print out to use for all sorts of educational fun. The sixteen cards include: Deer Mountain Lion Wolf Wild Turkey Skunk Beaver Bobcat Squirrel Fox Opossum Mole Mouse Raccoon Rabbit Coyote Bear The cards […]
Free wildflower ID cards for games, nature studies and more
Hobby Farms Magazine offers wonderful wildflower ID cards that can be used in all sorts of ways for nature study fun in your homeschool. The full-color cards offer photos and descriptions of fourteen wildflowers that can be found throughout the United States. These can be used in a myriad of ways for games, nature studies […]
Summer science: Tell the temperature with crickets!
Here’s a great way to combine nature studies, science and math in a really fun way — use crickets to tell the temperature! My husband has been teaching our kids to tell the temperature by counting cricket chirps for years. It sounds like a bit of blarney, but it actually works and scientists have been […]
Science and nature fun for July
July is full of all sorts of great science and nature opportunities. Here are five fun ones to work into your homeschooling this month. MythBusting: You hear all sorts of folk wisdom that can be great fun for kids to test out. When we heard that you should draw chalk lines outside your house because […]
Take part in citizen science projects monitoring butterflies this summer
Two wonderful citizen science projects are being offered this summer through SciStarter and they’re a great way to help butterflies while also doing science. These projects are free to take part in and can be done in your own park, town or back yard. The Monarch Larva Monitoring Project was developed by researchers at the […]
Great science stations for young kids
Science stations are wonderful for young kids. They introduce toddlers and preschoolers to the love of science and are also great for keeping them busy while homeschooling older kids. They’re fun, educational and easy to set up! What is a science station? It’s a space you stock with fun materials for a child to experiment […]
Campfire science!
It’s summer time and the perfect season for camping. Why not add to the fun by doing a little chemistry with campfire coloring and experiments? We tried a little campfire chemistry while camping with homeschool friends a few years ago. It was such fun that afterwards we looked up other ingredients to add to really […]