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Homeschool Unit Studies: Animal Homes Unit Study

October 15, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Today we’re sharing another one of our homeschool unit studies!

We’ve already talked about hibernation and this time I wanted to share some information we’ve found about how animals make their homes in various environments.

Read on to check out our Animal Homes Unit Study!

Animal Homes Unit Study for Homeschoolers

Kids love to learn about where animals live.

And, really, it is  fascinating to study how different kinds of animals adapt to their environments and manage to raise their young, no matter the climate in which they live.

Personally, I don’t think I could get by without heating and air conditioning, but that’s another story…

This simple animal homes unit is a fun way to introduce habitats and ecosystems to early elementary students. Plus, there’s a free animal homes worksheet for you to use with your class!

Want to see more of our homeschool unit studies for kids? Don’t miss our beach unit study or our penguins unit study!

Disclosure: I am a BookShark brand ambassador and am receiving free curriculum as part of my role.
Learn about the different animal habitats on Earth with this animal homes unit study!

Homeschool Unit Studies: Animal Homes Unit Study

We started by learning about different animal homes in The Usborne World of Animals (part of our BookShark Level 1 curriculum).

Exploring Animal Homes Unit Study with BookShark

As our lesson plan suggested, we went out to explore animal homes in our local area.

Animal Homes Unit Study for Kids

We saw this eight-legged guy living in a tree.

Exploring Insect Animal Homes

We even found insects living under a fallen tree branch on the ground.

Naturally, we couldn’t leave it there. So we went to the zoo to see even more animal habitats.

Learning about Animal Homes with Kids

There were birds living in trees…

Learning about Animal Habitats Unit Study

…in ponds…

Exploring Animal Habitats Unit Study

…and in the Arctic!

Learning about Animal Habitats with Kids

We saw elephants living on the savanna.

Discovering Animal Habitats Unit Study

And alligators living in swamps.

The kids thought it was cool that animal homes look so different from one place to another. And, as we learned, the homes vary by region and by species.

So one animal in the rainforest has a certain kind of home, while a different animal has a different kind of home that suits its needs.

But an animal that lives in the rainforest may have a very different home than a related animal that lives in our area.

As our BookShark lesson pointed out, this is no different than people. Different people have different kinds of homes based on where they live and their specific needs.

 

Printable Animal Homes Worksheet for Kids

 

Learn about the types of homes that different animals live in with this free printable animal homes worksheet for kids!

Animal Homes Worksheet

This is a simple but educational activity to help early elementary students practice matching animals with the names of their homes!

Plus, an answer key is included!

Animal Homes Unit Activity

Get your free copy of this printable Animal Homes worksheet by clicking the image below!

Click here to get your free printable!

Animal Homes Unit Study Video

 

To learn more about animal habitats, check out this video and see if the kids can answer the questions that follow!

1. What is a habitat? (Answer: The area where something lives)

2. What do animals need to live? (Answer: Food, water, shelter, and space to live)

3. What is the food chain? (Answer: The model that describes the flow of energy between living things)

4. What is a food web? (Answer: Tangled system that includes every plant and animal in a habitat)

5. Do food webs and food chains look the same all over the world? (Answer: No, they are different, depending on the conditions in each habitat.)

 

Animal Homes Books and Activities for Kids

 

Try the following affiliate animal habitat books and animal habitat activities to add to your Animal Homes unit study!

1. Sea Monster Notebooking Pages – Look! We’re Learning!

2. National Geographic Wild Animal Atlas: Earth’s Astonishing Animals and Where They Live

3. Habitat Sensory Bins – Mama’s Happy Hive

4. Welcome Home, Bear: A Book of Animal Habitats by Il Sung Na

5. Animal Habitat Mural – True Aim Education

6. I See a Kookaburra!: Discovering Animal Habitats Around the World by Steve Jenkins

7. Farm Shoebox Diorama – Look! We’re Learning!

8. Scholastic: Matching Animals & Habitats Lace-Up Cards by Maria Chang

Homeschool Unit Studies: Animal Homes Unit Study

Don’t miss these other science-based unit studies for kids!

Learn about the science of beaches, plus get fun math, language, and geography practice, in this printable beach unit study!
This hibernation unit study is full of fun hibernation crafts and activities for kids!
This fun bears unit study for kids features printables, activities, and videos for learning about these furry friends!

Filed Under: Unit Studies Tagged With: animals, homeschool unit studies, science, unit studies

Free Printable Flashcards: Spanish Family Flashcards

October 8, 2018 by Selena Robinson 5 Comments

Today, I’m sharing yet another set of flashcards for you! So far, we’ve already learned Spanish days of the week, Spanish opposite words, and Spanish food words with flashcards. This week, it’s on to Spanish family flashcards!

Our set of free printable flashcards is called “La Familia” and it’s all about how to say basic family words in Spanish! In this set, I’ve used formal family words for “mother” and “father”, because mama and papa in Spanish are still “mama” and “papa”. 😉

Printable Spanish Family Vocabulary Flashcards

If you love these, stop by and check out all of our printable Spanish flashcards, including printables for learning community words, colors, winter animals, and more!

Help kids learn to recognize family words in Spanish with these printable Spanish family flashcards!

What’s In the Spanish Family Flashcards Pack?

To use these Spanish family flashcards, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer paper
  • Scissors
  • Laminator (to keep the cards sturdy for reuse)

Printable Spanish Family Flashcards

In this set of Spanish family flashcards, you’ll learn the Spanish words for:

  • Little Brother
  • Little Sister
  • Brother
  • Sister
  • Mother
  • Father
  • Family

Printable Spanish Family Word Flashcards

You’ll also find a pronunciation guide for saying each word, an English set for review, and a set of blank cards for quizzes!

Printable Spanish Family Flashcards for Kids

Since there are English cards included, you can use these as part of a family unit with your young learners.

Printable Spanish Family Word Flashcards for Kids

Let the kids play a matching game with each set of language cards or call out the Spanish family words and see if the kids can guess which member of the family it is!

Spanish Family Flashcards for Kids

Scroll down to get your free Spanish Family Flashcards!

These resources and activities feature more helpful tips for teaching kids how to speak about family members in Spanish!

Resources for Learning Spanish Family Words:

  1. Spanish Language School Poster – Words About Family Members
  2. Teach Them Spanish!, Grade K
  3. Kids Learn Spanish: My Family (Family Members)
  4. My Grandma/Mi Abuelita

Activities for Learning Spanish with Kids:

  1. Montessori-Inspired Spanish: Living Montessori Now
  2. Learning Spanish with Kulcutural Kids: Pragmatic Mom
  3. Teaching Spanish at Home – Crafty Moms Share
  4. Hispanic Heritage Month Activities – Multicultural Kid Blogs

If you love these flashcards, don’t miss our other Spanish learning posts!

Teach children how to identify community workers in both Spanish and English with these Spanish community helper worksheets!

Learn how to talk about weather in Spanish with these printable Spanish weather flashcards!

And check out ALL of our printable Spanish flashcards as well!

Learn espanol with these printable Spanish flashcards for kids!

Be sure to follow my Foreign Language for Homeschoolers board on Pinterest for more Spanish language tips!

We've been enjoying our Spanish lessons, so here is a set of free Spanish family flashcards - perfect for learning the members of the family!

To grab your set of our Free Spanish Family Flashcards, sign up for our email newsletter! You’ll receive access to these flashcards and lots of other exclusive printables in our Subscriber Library!

Filed Under: Homeschooling Printables, Spanish Tagged With: family words in spanish, free printable flashcards, free printable spanish flashcards, free printables, homeschooling printables, printable spanish flashcards, spanish family flashcards, spanish flashcards, spanish for kids, spanish printables for kids

Beautiful Georgia State Parks to Visit With the Kids This Year

October 1, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

When we first started having children, I thought “I’m going to be the bestest mom on the planet!”. I’m sure many of you did the same.

In my mind, being the bestest mom meant taking my kids to the amusement park every chance I got. After all, that’s where I always wanted to go as a kid.

But something happened as the kids got older. I noticed that they weren’t really *enjoying* themselves at those places. I mean, they had fun, but they always seemed so exhausted and overstimulated afterward that I often wished we hadn’t gone.

Beautiful Georgia State Parks to Visit with the Kids This Year

So, my husband and I decided to start spending more time outdoors with our kids. And we decided to start with all of the beautiful Georgia state parks to visit in our area.

And I’m here to tell you that there are a LOT of them. So many that I’d never seen, never visited, or never even heard of!

I wanted to share several of these Georgia state parks to visit with all of you, just in case you’re planning a trip to the Southeast U.S. and you’re looking for a relaxing, gorgeous, and affordable way to spend some time together as a family. They’re definitely worth a trip.

Heading out to one of these parks in the summer? Don’t miss our printable beach scavenger hunt to play with the kids while you’re there!

Planning to get out in nature this year? Don't miss these beautiful Georgia state parks to visit with the kids!

Beautiful Georgia State Parks to Visit With the Kids This Year

This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

As a note, this will be a growing list. We’re planning to visit as many of Georgia’s state and national parks as we can over the next few years. So be prepared for this post to get pretty long as we share pictures, experiences, and reviews.

Hard Labor Creek State Park

Just an hour outside of Atlanta is Hard Labor Creek State Park. With a beautiful golf course, a lakeside beach, and plenty of trails, this state park should be on your short list of places to visit.

There are 24 miles of hiking, biking, and horseback trails to explore. Stay in one of the cozy cottages or bring your tent or RV as this campsite has all the modern-day amenities.

Hard Labor Creek State Park Cottage

This is the cottage we stayed in at Hard Labor Creek state park. It was wonderful. The kitchen is fully furnished (complete with flatware!), the floors are hardwood, and there were two full bedrooms with two beds each.

We had cable TV, a fireplace, a screened porch, and complementary board games in the cupboard!

Hard Labor Creek State Park

There are a couple of hiking trails and they’re both fairly easy. So you can bring the kids along without packing an entire suitcase of supplies.

There are horse stables and a special horse campground too! Bring your beach toys and have a fun and relaxing day on the lakeside beach. My kids love the beach there, by the way.

F.D. Roosevelt State Park

Georgia’s largest state park was a favorite of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Just 80 miles southwest of Atlanta, these 9,049 acres will easily help you forget all your troubles at home and help you to reconnect with nature.

Go on a day hike or jump on your bike and explore the 40 miles of trails throughout the park. Discover hidden waterfalls, beautiful tall trees, and little creeks where the local animals come out to visit.

Wash off the dust of the trail in the cool spring water of the Liberty Bell swimming pool. Don’t forget your fishing poles or go on a guided horseback ride.

This park is dedicated to FDR and has a life-sized sculpture welcoming you to the park. Visit the Roosevelt Little White House State Historic Site, which is located nearby. The warm spring pools are what brought FDR to this area to seek relief from polio. You can view his home and walk through the museum too.

Amicalola Falls State Park

For those that love the idea of camping, but like the reality of a hotel room facing the woods, head over to Amicalola Falls State Park. You can have a luxury stay on the mountaintop at the North Georgia Lodge with a spectacular view of the park.

For a bit more privacy, reserve a secluded cabin that is perfect for a mountain getaway with all the comforts of home. Stay close to the waterfalls at the campground that can accommodate both RVs and tents.

Amicalola Falls State Park has some pretty unique features as it is operated by a private company and not the state. Enjoy ziplining, archery, a climbing rock wall, survivalist camp, and a GPS scavenger hunt.

Personally, this is one of my favorite Georgia state parks to visit. The falls are beautiful and the hike up to them is pretty easy. On one of our visits, I was pregnant and the hike was still a breeze.

Cloudland Canyon State Park

One of Georgia’s most treasured places for spectacular nature formations is Cloudland Canyon State Park. This is the place to go if you love discovering hidden caves, cascading waterfalls, sandstone cliffs, and thousand-foot deep canyons carved out of the mountains.

Mountain bikers will love the new Five Points Recreation Area and Cloudland Connector Trail. Hikers can spend the day exploring the waterfalls and taking the West Rim Loop Trail to drink in the views of the gorgeous landscape. Bring your tent or RV, stay in a yurt, or relax in your very own cottage in the woods.

Cumberland Island National Seashore

Camping at Cumberland Island National Seashore is like no other experience in Georgia. After you have taken the 45-minute ferry ride to the island, you are ready for your adventure! For those that want clean restrooms, a fire ring, a food cage, stay at the popular Sea Camp Campground.

Cumberland Island

If you want to try your hand at camping in a situation when you have to boil your water first, stay at the Stafford Beach Campground. If you’re an experienced primitive camper, you can wilderness camp in secluded, beautiful areas of the island!

The history of the island and wild horses make this camping experience perfect for those looking for something off the beaten path.

Those are the Georgia state parks to visit that have made our must-visit list so far! But we’re looking forward to plenty more we can share soon!

Get more ideas for ways to spend time with the kids in these posts!

Keep the kids happy this winter with these 50 fun cabin fever activities!

These adorable farm animal paper bag puppets are such a fun way to learn about barnyard animals with the kids!

These owl books for kids feature gorgeous pictures and illustrations for learning about these nocturnal flyers!

See even more ideas for reconnecting with the kids on my Parenting with Joy Pinterest board!

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: nature, parenting

Portrait Style Homeschool Art Courses with Sparketh

September 28, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

My ten-year-old son is the artist in the family. And by that I mean he wants to be an artist. He’s very interested in drawing and painting, but sadly, neither his father nor I are qualified in the least to teach him those skills.

What’s more, we don’t have any local homeschool art programs that are affordable enough for us at the moment.

Last year, my son got to try the homeschool art courses from Sparketh and he was absolutely hooked. So when we found out that Sparketh now offers portrait style art courses, he jumped at the opportunity to try them.

Sparketh Portrait Style Homeschool Art Courses

In just a few days, he had produced his very first portrait – with no formal artistic training! It was amazing to watch. In fact, it actually made me want to try learning to paint myself.

Read on to see how Sparketh’s portrait style art courses work and how you can use them as a comprehensive homeschool art program with your family!

Disclosure: I received access to this program in exchange for this post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.

Ready to help your budding artist take talent to the next level? Try the portrait style homeschool art courses from Sparketh!

Sparketh Portrait Style Homeschool Art Courses

Sparketh is an online video art program that offers various courses and projects for kids (and adults) to complete. Each course is broken into short videos that demonstrate exactly how to draw or paint a specific object or person.

As students go through each step, they gradually produce their own works of art.

Sparketh Homeschool Art Courses

In addition to their individual art project courses, Sparketh now offers an Art Style Portraits track with several portrait courses in various styles.

As you can see from the list, students can create portraits in Pop Art, Fauvism, Minimalism, and other specific artistic styles. There’s even a manga style course for comic fans!

Sparketh Harlem Renaissance Portrait Homeschool Art Course

My son wanted to begin with the Harlem Renaissance Portrait Course. In this project, students look at a snapshot and repaint it in the cultural style popular during the Harlem Renaissance – one of our favorite periods in history.

All he had to do was click “Join Course” and we were off and running!

Learning to Paint a Portrait with Sparketh Homeschool Art Courses

I should note here that we have tried other video art lessons. Here’s what sets Sparketh’s homeschool art course apart, in my opinion:

  • The courses are short, which keeps students from getting overwhelmed. The entire Harlem Renaissance Portrait course is only 31 minutes long.
  • The platform is very easy to follow. Students can read the supply list before getting started and then decide how much of the project they want to complete that day.
  • Individual steps are broken into separate short videos. This is excellent for kids who have attention concerns (like several of our children do).
  • The videos show the art instructors as they work. My son was able to pause the video and look directly at what the artist did and then recreate it himself.

Taking Homeschool Art Lessons with Sparketh

Once he’d gathered his supplies (and we didn’t need many for this course), he got started.

Learning to Draw with Sparketh Homeschool Art Courses

The instructor showed him how to begin by sketching his portrait, which he did.

Homeschool Art with Sparketh

He simply paused the video to catch up and follow the instructor’s work.

Using Sparketh for Homeschool Art Lessons

Then he moved on to outlining his picture with marker.

Sparketh Homeschool Art Courses for Kids

Like so.

As you might be able to tell, he did the sketching and outlining all within one day. I had to make him stop for that afternoon. That’s how much he loved using Sparketh.

Learning to Paint with Sparketh Homeschool Art Lessons

Later, he went back and added his watercolor paint and he was done!

Learning to Paint Portraits with Sparketh Homeschool Art Courses

I think he might have asked me for help to understand the instruction once during the entire course.

Sparketh is easy enough for a ten-year-old to follow all on his own, so it’s a stress-free homeschool art course for parents. You can just sign your child up for an account and let him or her work through the projects.

Art class for the year? Check.

Want to try Sparketh’s Portrait Style Art Courses with your child? Just sign up on the Sparketh website and let your child browse the list to find a project to try!

See how you can use also Sparketh to teach your child to draw in the post below!

Worried about how to teach art when you're not really artistic Sparketh is a wonderful and easy art program for kids!

Plus, follow my Art Ideas for Kids board on Pinterest to get more suggestions for homeschool art projects!

How to Afford Homeschooling eBook Download

Filed Under: Curriculum Reviews, Homeschool Curriculum Tagged With: art, homeschool art, homeschool curriculum

Pumpkin Places! Kindergarten Ordinal Number Lesson for Kids

September 24, 2018 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Teach preschoolers how to use ordinal numbers with these fun pumpkin-themed preschool ordinal number worksheets!
Teach your early learners to count with ordinal numbers using this fun pumpkin themed printable ordinal number lesson!
Teach early learners how to use ordinal numbers with this no prep pumpkin places ordinal number lesson for kids! Perfect for early math skill building!

Counting is one of the most important skills kids learn in early grades.

But there’s more to counting than just reciting numerals from 1 to 10.

Students also need to learn how to use ordinal numbers to assign sequential order to objects in a line.

And that’s why I’m excited to share this pumpkin themed kindergarten ordinal numbers lesson!

Fun Pumpkin Themed Kindergarten Ordinal Number Lesson

This resource includes both printable practice for students, as well as a teaching lesson you can use to introduce this skills to your class!

Read on to see how to get your copy. And, for more pumpkin learning fun, take a look at our Pumpkin Same and Different Worksheets too!

This pumpkin themed kindergarten ordinal number lesson is perfect for teaching early learners!

Pumpkin Places! Kindergarten Ordinal Number Lesson

Young children usually have a pretty good idea of what “first” means already.

Just try to give someone else something ahead of them. They’ll shout “I was first!” It’s the other numbers that might need a little practice, right?

This kindergarten ordinal number lesson can help!

To use these kindergarten ordinal number worksheets, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are used below. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer paper or cardstock
  • Pencils
  • Scissors (optional)
  • Dry erase markers (optional)
Fun Pumpkin Themed Ordinal Number Worksheets for Kindergarten

This is a complete math lesson on how to count with ordinal numbers for early learners.

It begins with a two-page lesson that explains what ordinal numbers are and how they are used in counting.

How to Count with Ordinal Numbers Lesson

Once you read the lesson with the class, you can hand out the first set of ordinal number worksheets.

These help students learn to find the object in the correct ordinal place.

Pumpkin Printable Ordinal Number Practice

The worksheets follow the same format as the lesson, so students won’t get confused trying to understand the directions.

Since this resource is for early learners, the focus is on learning ordinal numbers from first through fifth only.

Using a Kindergarten Ordinal Number Lesson and Worksheets

The second set of worksheets lets students identify the ordinal number places in which each pumpkin stands.

Then they can write the correct ordinal number word or write the correct ordinal number place for each pumpkin.

Pumpkin Themed Kindergarten Ordinal Number Lesson

Need to save on ink? Use the line art version, which is also included.

Plus, you can have the class color the worksheets afterward, which is always fun.

Pumpkin Themed Ordinal Number Activity for Kids

This resource also adapts well for use at math centers!

Add it to a clear sheet protector and let students use dry erase markers to complete it.

Using Ordinal Number Lesson Printables with Students

You might also try cutting the worksheet into strips and placing the strips on a ring. They make a wonderful addition to morning tubs!

Using Ordinal Number Worksheets at Math Centers

A full answer key is also included!

See this resource in action below!

Scroll down to get your copy of this fall kindergarten ordinal number lesson!

Try some of these other fall learning ideas!

These pumpkin same and different worksheets are such a simple way to practice visual discrimination during autumn!
Use this printable preschool fall activity calendar to plan an entire season of ideas for early learners!
These apple shape tracing worksheets are so fun for helping students learn to build plane shapes!
Kindergarten Ordinal Number Lesson for Fall

To get your copy of this Pumpkin Kindergarten Ordinal Number Lesson, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store or check it out below!

Filed Under: Homeschooling Printables, Teaching Printables Tagged With: fall, math, math worksheets, preschool math, preschool worksheets

Scarecrow Syllables for Second Graders Activity

September 20, 2018 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

Scarecrow Syllables for Second Graders - Look! We're Learning!
Scarecrow Themed Printable Syllable Activity
Work on recognizing syllables in common vocabulary words with this Scarecrow Syllables printable syllable activity for kids!
Printable Syllable Activity for Kids
Scarecrow Syllables for Second Grade Pack - Look! We're Learning!
Scarecrow Themed Syllable Activity for Kids
Printable Scarecrow Syllables Activity for Kids
Scarecrow Syllables Printable Activity
Scarecrow Syllables Printable Activity for Kids
Scarecrow Syllables Syllable Counting Activity

It’s time for another entry in our second grade activity series!

This week, we’re talking about how to help second graders count and identify syllables in common words.

In second grade, we tend to start helping students read slightly longer words. And that’s when it’s good to start sounding out syllables.

To add a fun fall theme to this concept, we’re sharing a fun Scarecrow Syllables for Second Grade activity!

Fun Scarecrow Syllable Counting Lesson

This printable activity is an excellent literacy builder for early elementary students!

And, depending on your students’ vocabulary skills, it may even be useful in third grade classes as well.

And for more early elementary learning, take a look at our Superhero States of Matter Science Lesson! It’s an excellent and easy hands-on science lab for early grades.

Help students learn to count syllables in vocabulary words with this scarecrow themed syllable counting activity!

How to Teach Syllables in Early Grades

With our second grader, we use the typical “clap it out” method to count syllables.

So we’ll have him say a word and then for each sound he hears, he claps his hands.

For example, when he says the word “amazing”, he’ll end up clapping three times: A-MAZ-ING.

That helps him see that there are three syllables in the word.

Scarecrow Syllable Counting Lesson for Elementary

Before we got started with the lesson, I asked my second grader if he knew what syllables were.

His response: “Oh yeah, I learned that in school.”

Me: “Really? What are they?”

Him: “They’re all the letters in a word.”

Scarecrow Syllables for Second Grade Pack - Look! We're Learning!

He was really serious about that explanation.

After we talked about what syllables really were, we tried matching up the words with the right number of scarecrows.

Scarecrow Syllables for Second Grade Pack - Look! We're Learning!

The “clap it out” method worked beautifully!

Scarecrow Syllables for Second Grade Activity

To use this printable scarecrow syllables for second grade activity, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer Paper
  • Pencils
  • Laminator (optional)
  • Dry erase markers (optional)
Printable Scarecrow Themed Syllable Counting Activity

This printable language arts lesson includes:

  • Three color scarecrow syllable counting worksheets
  • Three line art scarecrow syllable counting worksheets
  • A full answer key
  • And a set of instructions!
Scarecrow Themed Syllable Counting Activity

Kids can sound out the words and count the syllables in each word.

There are one-syllable words, two-syllable words, and three-syllable words on each page.

Then students can draw lines to match the words with the correct number of scarecrows to show the right number of syllables.

Printable Scarecrow Syllable Counting Lesson

Turn this into a reusable activity by printing the pages half size and then laminating them.

Students can practice completing them with dry erase markers at centers!

See this product in action in the video below!

Scroll down to get your copy of our printable Scarecrow Syllables for Second Graders Activity!

Looking for more early elementary learning printables? Don’t miss these!

Share this When the Leaf Blew In Storybook Extension to help early learners understand this classic fall story!
Use these realistic leaf identification activity cards to help students recognize common tree species!
Use the print or digital version of this nocturnal and diurnal animals sorting activity to teach students about animal sleep habits!

To get your copy of our Scarecrow Syllables ELA Lesson, click the image or the link below to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

Printable Scarecrow Syllables Activity for Kids

>>> Scarecrow Syllables ELA Activity <<<

Check out the other scarecrow-themed posts from the 2nd Grade Blogging Team!

Free Scarecrow Expanded Form Memory Game from Life Over C’s

Make a Scarecrow Literacy Game from Planet Smarty Pants

Scarecrow Measures from Crafty Kids at Home

Scarecrow Silhouette Art Project from School Time Snippets

Scarecrow Compound Word Match Game from Creative Family Fun

Scarecrow Place Value Math from Sugar Aunts

Scarecrow Craft with Landscape from Sallie Borrink Learning

Filed Under: Homeschooling Printables, Teaching Printables Tagged With: fall, language arts, printables, second grade

Over 50 Free Fall Printables for Kids

September 17, 2018 by Selena Robinson 21 Comments

50 Free Fall Printables - Look! We're Learning!

It’s the middle of September and we’re nearing my favorite time of the year: fall! Which gave me a perfect excuse to share some of my favorite free fall printables for kids!

We’ll be using several fall themes for unit studies with our kids in the upcoming weeks, including leaves, farms, harvest, and apples.

If you’d like to learn about autumn with your children, you might like to look through the list of over 50 free fall learning printables for kids below!

Free Fall Printables

By the way, if you’re ready to stock up on printables for other seasons of the year, don’t miss our roundups of free spring printables for kids, free summer printables for kids, and free winter printables for kids!

This list of over 50 free fall printables for kids is perfect for educational fall fun!

50+ Free Fall Printables for Kids

This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

In the following list, you’ll find all kinds of fall printables for kids, including autumn printables, math worksheets, apple activities, scarecrow printables, lapbooks, and more!

If you get a chance to try some of them this year, I’d love to know which ones your children loved the most!

Farm Do-A-Dot Shape Mats – Look! We’re Learning!

Scarecrow Kindergarten Worksheets – Kindergarten Worksheets and Games

Fall Coloring Pages – Kids Activities Blog

Football Printable Pack – 3 Dinosaurs

Fall Color Sorting Printable – The Outlaw Mom

The Apple Pie Tree Lapbook – Homeschool Share

Fall Word Problems Printable – Royal Baloo

Fall Math for Preschoolers Packet – Teaching Mama

PreK/K Fall Pack – This Reading Mama

Apple Harvest Scissor Skills Printables – Look! We’re Learning!

Printable Autumn Leaf Puppets – Picklebums

Apple Activities Pack – 3 Dinosaurs

Apple Counting Preschool Pack – The Measured Mom

Fall Scavenger Hunt Printable – Hands On as We Grow

Apple Math Printables – Embark On the Journey

Fall Leaves Matching Game – Mama Miss

Notebooking Pages LIFETIME Membership

Harvest I-Spy Beginning Sounds Activity – Pre-K Pages

Fall Fun Nature Hunt Printable – The Chirping Moms

Apple Pattern Printables – Life Over C’s

Fall Lapbook – Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Fall Reading Pack – Kids Activities Blog

Apple Counting Cards – Every Star is Different

Harvest Letter Printables – The Preschool Toolbox

Fall Bingo Game – Wise Owl Factory

Fall Pack – 3 Dinosaurs

Pages: 1 2

Filed Under: Homeschooling, Homeschooling Printables Tagged With: autumn, fall, fall printables, fall printables for kids, free fall printables, free printables, homeschooling printables, printables

Over 25 Fall Nature Crafts for Kids to Make This Autumn

September 10, 2018 by Selena Robinson 7 Comments

I just love making crafts during the fall. There’s something about the cooler air, warmer clothing, and changing colors that makes even me (a non-crafty person) feel like creating. And it has the same affect on my kids!

This year, though, I wanted to share more of the actual fall season with the kids, which means not just making things about it but creating things with the natural world around us. And that’s why I wanted to find some beautiful fall nature crafts for kids to make!

Over 25 Fall Nature Crafts Kids Can Make

We’ve already made a few of these, but I’m looking forward to trying as many as we can this autumn!

These would be a wonderful addition to a fall leaves unit study or to go along with some of your favorite fall books for kids. While you’re here, don’t miss our list of fun leaf activities for kids to share even more fall learning fun!

Share these fall nature crafts with your children to make some unforgettable memories this autumn!

Over 25 Fall Nature Crafts to Make with Kids

1. Fall Leaf Snow Globe – Look! We’re Learning!

2. Bark Owl Craft – Fireflies + Mudpies

3. Fall Leaves Fish Nature Craft – Rhythms of Play

4. Fall Leaf Mobile – Buggy and Buddy

5. Fun Nature Tree Craft for Kids – Rain or Shine Mamma

6. DIY Acorn Marble Necklace Nature Craft – Rhythms of Play

7. Acorn Bells – Fireflies + Mudpies

8. Adorable Acorn Mice – Kids’ Craftroom

9. DIY Fall Wreath – Mommy’s Bundle

10. Fall Collage for Toddlers – Happy Hooligans

11. Autumn Stuffed Pine Cone Craft – Kids’ Craft Room

12. Pine Cone Pumpkin Craft – Fireflies + Mudpies

13. Oak Apple Nature Craft – Rhythms of Play

Fall Playdough Mats

Over 25 Fall Nature Crafts for Kids to Make

14. Easy Fall Leaf Garland – Look! We’re Learning!

15. Leaf Lanterns – Red Ted Art

16. Autumn Leaf Suncatchers – Fireflies + Mudpies

17. Paper Plate Hedgehog Craft – Easy Peasy and Fun

18. Autumn Mobile – Red Ted Art

19. Four Seasons Nature Trees – A Little Pinch of Perfect

20. Acorn Wreath for Kids – Craftulate

21. All Natural Leaf Threading – Kids’ Craft Room

22. Decorate Pinecones – Buggy and Buddy

23. Glitter Acorn Necklaces – Arty Crafty Kids

24. Fall Leaf Pinecone Turkey Craft – Mom Explores the Smokies

25. Fall Leaf Crowns – Mama Papa Bubba

26. Pinecone Owls – Fireflies + Mudpies

27. Autumn Leaf Bowls – Red Ted Art

Get outside with the little ones this fall and gather up natural materials to make these lovely fall nature crafts!

Which of these fall nature crafts do you plan to make first? Tell us about how it went in the comments!

Looking for more ways to celebrate autumn with the kids? Don’t miss these ideas!

These adorable apple crafts for kids are perfect for welcoming fall!

These When the Leaf Blew In printables are a fun way to extend this classic fall story with early learners!

Use these printable fall sight word flashcards to help early learners practice sight reading!

And see more fun things to do this fall on my Fall Activities for Kids Pinterest board!

Filed Under: Crafts Tagged With: crafts, fall, fall activities

How to Start the Homeschool Day Right

September 6, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

It’s the start of a new homeschooling year and, for many of us, that brings a ton of excitement about our new books, our new curriculum, and the kids’ new grade levels.

But we’ve been at this homeschooling thing for nearly ten years now and I’m here to tell you that the excitement… is going to fade. In fact, it seems like the longer you homeschool, the quicker it fades. And a lot of that comes down to having a rough homeschool day – or two or ten.

It’s so easy to think that you’re going to start the homeschool day right, only to have it dissolve into two shouting matches, a sibling fight, and a crying fit over a math problem by 11:00.

How to Start the Homeschool Day Right

For years, I fell into the trap of planning weeks of lessons and then falling off the homeschool wagon just a few days in. I thought I needed to change my curriculum, revamp my schedule, or even try public school for a while.

I didn’t realize that I was planning my homeschool years right, but starting my homeschool days completely wrong. Here’s what I’ve learned about how to start the homeschool day right.

Take a look to see what didn’t work for me and what finally is working – after all this time.

Disclosure: I am a BookShark brand ambassador and am receiving free curriculum as part of my role.

If your homeschooling day starts badly, it can be a real challenge to get it back on track. Here are a few tips to help you learn how to start the homeschool day right each morning!

How to Start the Homeschool Day Right

Images c/o: lanakhvorostova and SIphotography / depositphotos

Plan your day’s lessons and activities in advance.

Please, please, please do not set yourself up for failure by thinking you can do this on the morning you plan to teach a lesson. You won’t get up early and plan for it. Trust me. You just won’t. (I cannot tell you how many school days I’ve given up on because I fell for this idea.)

Take some time to set up a flexible plan for your school week. Shoot for having the lessons for the week done by the previous Friday. Then try to schedule only a few full days and leave yourself some space for lessons that take a little…longer than expected.

Have a family meeting first thing in the morning.

This one took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out. And, really, this tip came from my husband. Whenever he’s home during the day, he gets up and goes into the kids’ rooms to talk with them about how they’re feeling that morning.

As he told me, “That’s the best way to find out what’s on their minds before we get started. Otherwise, they won’t be able to focus on what we’re teaching, because their minds are somewhere else.”

So I started doing this on our homeschooling days too. When everyone gets up, I talk to them all individually to see how they’re feeling, what they’re thinking, and what they want to do that day.

I tell them we’ll try to get at least some of what they’d like done – after we finish our school lessons. It really does help them put those thoughts aside (at least for a while) to begin the school day.

Eat a really good breakfast.

Remember those old cereal commercials we used to see on Saturday morning? The ones that show the bowl of cereal, along with toast, eggs, and a glass of orange juice as part of a “balanced breakfast”?

They weren’t kidding. Kids really need to eat a filling breakfast to start the day, especially once they hit puberty.

I was allowing my kids to make their own breakfast for a while. That led to eating less than they needed, because they often didn’t “feel” like cooking as much as they should have.

Now that I’m back to making breakfast (and they make their own lunches and snacks), they actually get full and their moods are ten times better, which makes our entire homeschool day run smoother.

How BookShark Helps Me Start the Homeschool Day Right

One of the biggest changes that’s helping me start our homeschool days off right is using BookShark with my youngest.

BookShark is a year-long, book-based curriculum that includes ELA, history, and science for grades K-8. I’m using it for our first grader this year and it has done wonders for my homeschooling routine.

Because BookShark plans the weekly lessons for you, I have her daily plans done in no time. I just look over the prepared plan, review the books we’ll need, and we’re off and running the next week.

Take a peek at my BookShark homeschool binder to see how it works!

Start the homeschool day (and year) right with these tips!

We structure our homeschool week in just three days. See how we're doing it!

Get the new homeschool year off to a great start with these 25 helpful homeschool planning tips!

Looking for an easy ADHD homeschool schedule to try this year? See the simple ADHD homeschool schedule we're using!

See more ways to plan your homeschool year on my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board!

How to Afford Homeschooling eBook Download

Filed Under: Homeschool Planning, Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschool planning, homeschooling

How to Boost A Gifted Reader’s Reading Skills with Reading Eggs

September 4, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We’ve always wanted to build a love for reading in our kids. Now that we’re down to just one child in early grades, we’re pretty much done with teaching early reading skills.

No more phonics, no more decoding, no more CVC word practice. All four of our kids are off to the reading races.

Our youngest, though, has taken this to a completely different level.

She’s five and she’s in first grade this year. But she’s reading on a fifth grade level. She wants to read everything, and I mean, EVERYTHING.

How to Boost Reading Skills with Reading Eggs

So when it was time to work on reading for this school year, I was a bit stumped. How do you help a child who’s reading four grade levels ahead to improve her reading skills? Was an online reading program the answer?

Which is why I jumped at the chance to try out Reading Eggs from Blake eLearning, even though I didn’t think our child really needed it. A couple of days in, I found out I was wrong. She did need help – but not in the ways I imagined.

Read on to find out how we’re using Reading Eggs to strengthen our gifted reader’s skills and how you can get access to this program for free! Plus, score a discount on Reading Eggs’ new math and reading workbooks too!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

Does your gifted reader really need an online reading program? See how we're using Reading Eggs to boost our bookworm's reading skills!

Does Your Gifted Reader Really Need Help with Reading Skills?

Honestly, before I tried Reading Eggs by Blake eLearning with our daughter, I thought it was just for very early readers. I didn’t know that the program contains several levels, including lessons for kids all the way to age 13.

We’ve used several reading programs with our kids over the years. But after just a few days, I could see why Reading Eggs has won so many awards.

Reading Eggs Reading Skills Practice for Kids

Each of the levels are designed for kids of different age groups:

  • Reading Eggs Junior: for children aged 2 – 4 years
  • Reading Eggs: for children aged 4 – 7 years
  • Reading Eggspress: for children aged 7 – 13 years
  • Mathseeds: for children aged 3 – 9 years

But those age ranges are only a guide. You can let your child take a placement test (more on that in a bit) and then start working at the level that is best for him or her.

Using Reading Eggs to Improve Reading Skills

Each level of Reading Eggs is loaded with hundreds of reading lessons. And each of the lessons includes multiple interactive activities to help kids practice their own reading and comprehension skills.

Plus, they can read along with over 2,500 ebooks. It is truly a comprehensive literacy program.

Building Reading Skills in Kids with Reading Eggs

Since our little one is such a bookworm, I was glad to see that Reading Eggs evaluated, not just her reading ability, but her comprehension.

She’s pretty good about asking for definitions of words that she doesn’t understand. (I can barely get through a sentence of a read-aloud before she’s asked to get the dictionary.)

Practicing Reading Skills with Reading Eggs

But I like to see her show what she understands about a story she reads on her own. And Reading Eggs is awesome at that.

Using Reading Eggs to Boost Reading Skills

As you might be able to tell, she aced this particular storybook quiz. Only 2,499 ebooks left to read!

How We’re Using Reading Eggs to Boost Our Child’s Math and Reading Skills

So – Reading Eggs is great, but how does it help a child who’s already reading well?

Since the program includes lessons for so many reading levels, you can let your child take the placement test to see where he or she needs to begin. But then you can still adjust the level as needed.

As your child learns, you can track his or her progress and read reports to find out how many books they’ve read, lessons they’ve done, and even their estimated reading age.

Reading Eggs Sequencing Activity for Reading Skills

Here’s what happened when our gifted five-year-old took the placement test. 

The program placed her one-third of the way through Reading Eggspress – on the level of a 9 or 10-year-old.

While I was initially pleased to see that kind of score, I wanted to know more about the level of work that would be expected at that place in the program.

Using Reading Eggs to Boost Reading Skills in Young Readers

And that’s when I learned that, while she could read and answer questions at that level, she was still missing some basic grammatical concepts she would be expected to know at that part of the program.

Even though she reads fluently a few grades ahead, she still needs ELA help to understand language before she can complete lessons at that level.

Practicing Reading Skills in Gifted Readers with Reading Eggs

So, we went backwards and began toward the end of Reading Eggs and started her lessons from there. Her level of mastery went up and so did her understanding of the concepts.

Now when we come back to that part of Reading Eggspress, she’ll be ready!

Reading Eggs MathSeeds Placement Test

Mathseeds works exactly the same way as Reading Eggs.

Kids begin by taking a placement test, called a “Driving Test”, to see where they should begin learning math.

There are tests for each grade and each mathematical concept.

Reading Eggs Mathseeds Placement Test for Math

Fair warning here: The tests are super cute. As students answer each question, they drive around a race track. The goal is to complete the entire track and finish the test.

Building Math Fluency with Reading Eggs Mathseeds

Once they get enough right, they get to play a racing game for 60 seconds. That was definitely her favorite part of the exam.

Reading Eggs Reading and Math Workbooks

One of the biggest drawbacks to using reading apps and online reading programs is that they often don’t have enrichment activities that you can use without screens.

Since some of our children have ADHD, we try to limit screen time as much as we can.

Guess what? Reading Eggs now has print reading and math workbooks that kids can use as they work through the program!

Reading and Math cover spreads

The workbooks are designed to be used with the online lessons in the program: reading workbooks for Reading Eggs and math workbooks for Mathseeds.

Each of the workbooks has a explanation of how to use the materials along with the program, as well as a year planner to help you get an overview of how you can complete the workbook in a single school year.

Reading and Math Sample pages

And they’re available by level, so your younger and older students can work on practicing math and reading skills they need!

Reading Eggs Promo

Ready to try Reading Eggs for yourself? You can get a FREE four-week trial to everything the program has to offer, including Reading Eggs Junior, Reading Eggs, Reading Eggspress, and Mathseeds!

Just visit Reading Eggs and sign up to get started!

You can also save 10% on the new Reading Eggs math and reading workbooks for grades K-5! Check out the Reading Eggs shop and enter promo code WK10A40CWG1 to claim your discount!

    Want to find out even more about Reading Eggs? Check out the program on these networks!

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    Get your little ones reading with these fun booklists featuring beautiful children’s books you can share with your family!

    Make this fall one to treasure with the kids with this list of 50 wonderful fall books for kids to read!

    Read some of these fun books about ice cream for kids to share with your children over the summer!

    These fun farm books for kids are perfect for reading about farms, learning about farm animals, or doing a farm unit study!

    Filed Under: Curriculum Reviews, Homeschool Curriculum Tagged With: curriculum review, homeschool curriculum

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