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STEM for Homeschoolers: How to Build a Toothpick Bridge with Pitsco Education!

January 3, 2017 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

STEM education is a huge priority in our homeschool these days. We’ve got a busy middle schooler and I want her to get a good introduction to science, technology, engineering, and math during these years. That way, as she goes on in her schooling, she won’t be intimidated by these subjects later. And who knows? Maybe she’ll become an engineer herself!

So I jumped at the chance to try the Toothpick Bridges Maker Project from Pitsco Education! See how this curriculum helps kids learn how to build a toothpick bridge and learn about design and engineering at the same time!

Disclosure: I received this product in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review.

Pitsco Education Toothpick Bridges Maker Project

Pitsco Education offers many, many resources for homeschoolers who want to work on STEM concepts with their kids. Each of the resources are grouped by category. For example, if you want to focus on math, you can browse plenty of awesome math projects. What I love about Pitsco’s product selection is that all of the lessons feature hands-on projects, which are an incredible teaching method for active homeschoolers (like ours).

The Pitsco Education Toothpick Bridges Maker Project was the foundation for our lesson. In the kit, there are:

Structural glue
A ton of toothpicks
Bottles for handling the glue
A toothpick bridge tester
And an instructional video on how to design your own toothpick bridge

We also received the complete lesson plan Masterpiece Toothpick Bridges: A Guide for Teachers and Students, which was a huge help for me as the educator. The plan includes plenty of activities, research, and illustrations to make an entire month of lessons based on this concept. It’s very, very detailed and an excellent in-depth lesson we’ll be working on through the rest of the year.

How to Build a Toothpick Bridge

I was so thankful for the Toothpick Bridges DVD. It really helped my middle schooler to “see” exactly what the process is for designing and creating her bridge.

Since she has ADHD, she watched the video once and said “I got it!” As we started on the project, though, I could see that she didn’t really get it quite yet. So I played it a second time and watched it along with her, pausing frequently to ask about her understanding. That really helped her get a clearer idea of what was involved in the process.

In the Toothpick Bridges teachers’ guide, there are examples of stunning toothpick bridges constructed by students. Some of these are practically works of art. This time, though, we stuck to the basics.

We started by creating a paper template to use as the design for our bridge sides. My middle schooler used the template on the DVD as her guide.

Then it was time to start measuring how many toothpicks we’d need for each side. We laid them down on the template to get a look at how to place them before we started adding glue.

As the video shows, building these bridges takes time. You can only create one side at a time and you can only construct one set of diagonals at a time. Which meant that we’d work on it for a while, let it set up, then resume working on it. For a child with a short attention span, this was an excellent activity for working on a longer-term project.

Once the individual sides dry, you can stand them up and attach them together, forming your bridge. As you can see, we used a LOT of glue. Next time, we’ll cut back on that a bit…lol.

Once our bridge was constructed, it was time to test it! The goal here is to put as much weight as you can possibly can on the bridge to see how much it can bear before it breaks.

As the video showed, we put on some safety goggles first. No one wants to catch a toothpick in the eye.

We placed a piece of wood (from the Toothpick Bridge tester) on the bridge and tied the bucket to a string. Our bridge wasn’t quite wide enough for the piece of wood to lie straight down, so it’s possible that our results were a bit skewed. Next time, we’ll be sure to use the piece of wood as the template for how wide the flatbed of the bridge should be.

We gradually added sand to the bucket until…the bridge broke!

Afterward, we weighed the sand to see how much our bridge could hold before breaking. It was 6.5 pounds! Who knew you could hold up six and a half pounds with just toothpicks!

This was a STEM activity we truly loved. And we’ll be repeating it again this school year now that we have a better understanding of how to engineer a bridge from scratch.

Are you working on STEM concepts with your kids this year? Be sure to check out the incredible products available from Pitsco Education for kids!

Plus, get more ideas for teaching STEM on my STEM for Homeschoolers Pinterest board!

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

December 20, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

I love my slow cooker. If I was single, I would marry it.

Before I had children, I wasn’t really much for cooking. I would grab something out of a can and eat it on my way to my second job. Naturally, after I got married, this had to change.

And when I discovered the magic of the crockpot, I learned that I didn’t have to love cooking. It would do the cooking for me! I went on a crockpot learning binge, finding all kinds of recipes that I could put in that thing.

Then I learned that a lot of slow cooker recipes are still time-intensive! I might have to find up to 20 ingredients. I might have to prep a lot of vegetables. I might have to scour the grocery store trying to find some kind of special seasoning.

With that much work, I was missing the point of the slow cooker – which is to do less work! So I was thrilled to come across this slow cooker red beans and rice recipe. It was already pretty easy, but I adapted it to be even easier. Because…I’m still not much for cooking. 🙂

I hope you love this! If so, be sure to try our easy vegan crockpot rigatoni for another simple slow cooker dinner!

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

You’ll need the following ingredients for this dish:

16 oz. bag of light red kidney beans
1 package of smoked sausage links
1 package frozen seasoning mix (onions, green peppers, red peppers)
Chicken bouillon
White rice

And that is it. Really. There are only five ingredients.

Start by rinsing the kidney beans and draining them in a strainer. Place them in the slow cooker. Cut up the sausage links into 1/2 inch circles and put them in the slow cooker as well.

Open the bag of frozen seasoning mix and toss the entire thing into the slow cooker. Now you’ll add your liquid.

The original recipe called for chicken broth, but chicken broth is kind of expensive. So I buy a container of powdered chicken bouillon and add about four teaspoons of it. Then I add seven cups of water.

Just for flavor – I add a little Cajun seasoning on top as well.

Put the lid on top and cook it for seven hours on Low.

About 30 minutes before the red beans and sausage are done, I cook the white rice. That way, it’ll be hot when the food is ready.

Dish the rice into bowls and ladle some of the beans and sausage on top. We’re done!

I might add a pan of biscuits to this, but this cooks up so large that I usually have enough for dinner the next night too. Win!

Get the full recipe below!

Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice

Adapted from http://littlemagnoliakitchen.blogspot.com/2012/08/crock-pot-red-beans-and-rice.html

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 7 hours

Total Time 7 hours 15 minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

16 oz light red kidney beans
1 package of smoked sausage links
1 package frozen seasoning mix (onions, green peppers, red peppers)
4 tsp chicken bouillon
White rice

Instructions

Rinse the kidney beans and drain them. Place them in the slow cooker.
Cut up the sausage links into 1/2 inch circles and put them in the slow cooker as well.
Open the bag of frozen seasoning mix and toss the entire thing into the slow cooker.
Add four teaspoons of powdered chicken bouillon and seven cups of water. Season to taste.
Put the lid on top and cook it for seven hours on Low.
30 minutes before the beans and sausage are done, cook the white rice.
Dish the rice into bowls and ladle some of the beans and sausage on top.

Don’t miss these other simple recipes for the family!

And get more ideas for easy dinners on my Family Meals Pinterest board!

How to Save Big on Homeschool Field Trips with FieldTripZoom!

December 15, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

I’m a homeschooling mom, which means I love, love, love taking my kids on homeschool field trips. There’s just one little teeny tiny problem: It’s expensive!

I’ve found lots of really great frugal field trip places in Atlanta that we’ve visited often, but other than those, it can be tough to afford really educational outings, especially as my kids get older and learn about more complex topics.

So I was excited to learn about FieldTripZoom – a virtual field trip service that offers streaming homeschool field trips you can watch from your home! Talk about a homeschooler’s dream come true!

Read on to see how we’re using FieldTripZoom to make field trips affordable for our family! Plus, learn how to score a 10 percent discount on an annual membership for you and your kids!

Disclosure: I received this product in exchange for this post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. (Affiliate links are provided here for convenience. For more, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Why Homeschool Field Trips Can Be So Expensive for Families

I’ve only attended a handful of live homeschool field trips since our last child was born and there’s a good reason for it: MONEY. As I browse available programs in our area, most of the sessions that look really educational are based on a ticket price per child.

That might work if I only had one or two children, but four? Take a modest field trip price of $10 per child, multiply it by four, and now we’re looking at $40 just to get in if there’s no charge for parents.

Unfortunately for us, most of these field trips are held at locations on the side of Atlanta that is exactly opposite where we live. Which means I have to factor in an additional tank of gas and pack a lunch. By the time all is said and done, I’m looking at $80 – for a one to two hour field trip. That’s a bit steep on our budget.

Needless to say, I’ve passed up a lot of homeschool field trips over the years.

How FieldTripZoom Makes Homeschool Field Trips Affordable

How does FieldTripZoom help me save on homeschool field trips?

With FieldTripZoom, I don’t have to shell out a separate ticket price per child and I don’t have to fill up on gas again that week just to drive across the city to an awesome program. I can just sign on to my FieldTripZoom account, join the virtual field trip, and watch with everyone!

For example, these are my four relaxing in the living room and watching a field trip about nutrition. My boys each have toys (which would probably be a no-go in a real-life program) and my preschooler is listening in too!

As the presenter asked questions, the kids got to get up and answer them via chat. They were actually arguing over who could answer each one! When we’ve attended field trips in the past, they’ve been a little hesitant to participate, but at home they were ready and willing!

This was a really great session, because the presenter talked about the importance of nutrition and how it is distorted by the food advertising industry.

This is where I had Tigger sit up and take notes. As a middle schooler, we’ve been really working with her to learn how to think critically about what she sees and hears. This information really reinforced that.

And when we got to the section about exercise, I nearly jumped for joy. (I’ve been trying to coax her into a more active lifestyle for months.)

On FieldTripZoom, you can see the entire program schedule for the academic year and decide which ones you and your kids would like to attend. They’re conveniently listed by grade level, so it’s easy to spot which topics are a good fit for your kids’ age ranges. But be ready to sit down and scroll a while: There are over 300 annual programs to choose from!

The Nutrition program was geared toward several grade levels. But I also wanted to choose a few programs just for Tigger, who’s in sixth grade this year, so I signed up for a few programs for grades 6 and up only.

This one on the Civil War – presented by the University of Virginia – was absolutely excellent. It was a truly informative presentation about how the Civil War got started and why the Confederacy lost.

Talking about American history can be a little dry, especially for active kids like my middle schooler.

But look at her face! She had so much fun participating in the discussion and learning more about this topic! And we never even had to leave the house.

Benefits of Virtual Field Trips for Homeschoolers

As we’ve attended these sessions, I’ve come to value some other benefits of virtual field trips for homeschooling families of all kinds, not just big families on a budget like us.

This virtual field trip was a trip to Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington. We got to follow the host as he walked us through the market, introduced us to local vendors, and talked about the history of the place.

If I had tried to tour a place like this in person, I would have spent most of my time corralling my youngest, telling my oldest to pay attention, and trying to keep my boys from touching things.

Since we were attending virtually with FieldTripZoom, though, I didn’t have to worry about any of that! The kids just laid on the floor and watched. We talked about what we saw and heard and it was as no-stress as can be.

Now, hang on, because I’m about to really blow your mind. 🙂

We’ve even attended one of our homeschool field trips in the van. I had signed up for a FieldTripZoom virtual field trip hosted from the Alaska Sea Life Center, a place we’ll probably never visit in person, and I didn’t want the kids to miss it.

So I downloaded the Zoom app, signed on with my unique session link, and the kids watched as I drove!

It doesn’t get much better than that! And with the traffic we deal with in Atlanta, I will definitely make use of sessions when we’re “road-schooling”.

So the big question is: How much does FieldTripZoom cost? And I’m actually going to tell you the answer: $49.95 a year. That’s it.

For that price, you get access to as many of the virtual field trips as you want for as many kids as you want on as many dates as you want. It’s an incredible deal for homeschooling families, particularly those that have multiple kids.

And now – through December 31, 2016, save TEN PERCENT on an annual FieldTripZoom membership with this promo code: 01336. Here’s a handy image you can refer to when ordering.

Do you have questions about FieldTripZoom that I haven’t answered here? Still not sure if it’s a good fit for you? Let me know and I’ll do my best to fill you in based on our experiences! In fact, we have another field trip scheduled for this Friday, so I’ll have even more to share afterward. 🙂

To learn more about FieldTripZoom and all the programs that will be available for virtual homeschool field trips this year, follow the company on social media!

Free Winter Printables for Preschoolers

December 13, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Winter is a great time to get kids excited about learning! Especially when the weather is so awful no one wants to venture outside. 🙂

If you have older kids (like I do), it can be tough to keep your younger ones involved in your homeschooling lessons. Our preschooler always wants to be at the table with her older siblings during class, no matter what we’re learning about. I could be teaching organic chemistry and she’d want to be involved.

So I use a lot of preschool printables to keep her learning along with the older kids. If you enjoy using winter printables with your children, these free winter printables for preschoolers are a fun way to let your younger kids get involved!

And if you love these, don’t miss our printable winter sight word flashcards – perfect for working on early reading skills!

Free Winter Printables for Preschoolers

1. Free Snowflake Counting Flashcards – Look! We’re Learning!

2. Printable Winter Clothes Dress Up Busy Bag – Teaching Mama

3. Printable Winter Easy Pack for Kids – Kids Activities Blog

4. Winter Printable Pack for Toddlers and Preschoolers – Totschooling

5. Printable Winter Nature Walk Trivia – Rain or Shine Mamma

6. Roll A Snowman Printable Game – Kiddy Charts

7. Free Winter Coloring Pages – Crafty Morning

8. Free Winter Printable Activity Pack – A Little Pinch of Perfect

9. Printable Winter Bucket List for Preschoolers – No Time for Flashcards

10. Winter Color by Number Printables – Itsy Bitsy Fun

11. Color the Snowman Buttons Printable – Gift of Curiosity

12. Winter PreK/K Pack – This Reading Mama

13. Arctic Animal Flash Cards – Look! We’re Learning!

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Basic Coding for Kids with Bitsbox!

December 9, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

My sixth-grader is a bit…shall we say, math-averse? She can do the work, but she really, really, really doesn’t like it. Teaching her math can be frustrating for both of us. And, since she has ADHD, keeping her attentive during lessons is a challenge all its own.

But, in today’s society, learning a STEM skill, such as computer coding, is critical to understanding the modern world and developing a stable career. There’s just no way around it.

Naturally, I want my daughter to feel comfortable pursuing a career in any sector she wants. But I was at a loss as to how to get her excited about STEM learning. Which is why I was so glad to be selected to try the Bitsbox monthly subscription box!

Read on to see how we’ve been using Bitsbox to teach basic coding for kids in a super fun way! Plus, learn how to save 20 percent on your first month’s subscription!

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

Why Teaching Basic Coding for Kids Can Be Tough

I think that I might be a member of the last generation born before the widespread use of the Internet. I vividly remember the day we got our first modem. It was a huge event.

I’m mentioning that because writing computer coding is just not something I learned as a child. It wasn’t until after I became an adult and got started as a web content writer that I discovered how webpages are made. It was fascinating, but the learning curve was steep.

I knew that I wanted my kids, especially my daughters, to learn coding at an early age. But let’s face it: writing computer code is NOT the most glamorous thing in the world. And since my oldest daughter has ADHD, I was concerned that the required attention to detail would make it almost impossible for her.

Thanks to Bitsbox, though, I don’t have to even wonder how to make coding interesting. It’s all been done for me! This is the very first time my daughter said “That was fun. I want to learn more.” about anything involving a STEM-related skill. Which is a huge win for us.

How Bitsbox Makes Basic Coding for Kids a Snap

So what’s so special about Bitsbox? For one thing, the site is set up specifically for kids, so as a parent there’s very little direct instruction you’ll have to do. While I love teaching my children, by middle school I want them to develop some kind of independence and using Bitsbox really reinforced that with my daughter.

When you visit the site, you have the option to subscribe to the monthly box program or make a one-time purchase of a specific kit. Once you make your selection of either the Basic Bitsbox or the Deluxe Bitsbox, you just wait to receive your box in the mail. The first box is animal-themed, which was a perfect fit for our daughter, who loves all things animal.

Look at all these goodies!

Our Bitsbox, which is the most like the Deluxe Bitsbox, featured a slew of animal-themed apps written as code language on individual “Super Cards”. There were also stickers, temporary tattoos, miniature cards (for bite-sized coding), an envelope holder for our cards, and a VIP button.

Plus, we got a mystery toy – a Safari Origami set!

Each card gives a four-digit code that allows users to begin working on an app of their own. Once a student enters the code, he or she can write code in basic HTML that creates and animates an app on a virtual tablet that appears on the screen.

The cards progress from very, very easy to a bit more complex. The first app my daughter tried was called “Food Fight”, which walks you through coding that changes the background color of the tablet screen, places a piece of pie in the center, and then makes it explode. Fun, right?

But what caught my eye right away were the additional questions included in each Bitsbox app’s instructions. How can you change the background to a different color? Can you make an icon dance instead of explode?

Those are great, because they encouraged my daughter to look at coding as instructions that tell a webpage, program, or document what to do. Rather than just copying down the coding on the card, she started to think about what the instructions were actually implementing. That’s how you encourage kids to become engineers – by developing critical thinking.

After a few of the other basic apps, she wanted to move on to one of the more complex appls – Run Dodo Run. The coding actually lets kids make their (basic) computer game!

The instructions include a primer on working with coordinate geometry – something we’ll actually be talking about in math this year. So I copied the coordinates on the board and had her find a few ordered pairs.

As she learned, the numbers in the coding can mean anything from the places on the screen you want icons to appear to how fast you want objects to move or how high you want them to stand.

When she first entered the coding, the game wouldn’t work. And guess what? I refused to help her find the mistake. After a few minutes, she called out “I found it!”, corrected it, and voila! Her game worked just fine.

This is a child who can get so frustrated with a mistake in a math problem that she wants to quit. But she wanted to see her Bitsbox app work, so she stuck with it. The fact that the program encouraged her to see her project through was one of the biggest benefits I saw from using the box. And this was on the very first day.

Take a look at how her coded game works in the video above!

She had such fun with this program that she wants to work with it everyday. I see a future coder in our family!

If you’re ready to get your kids excited about computer coding, I cannot recommend Bitsbox enough. It’s worth a try to see how much it helps your children learn just how awesome writing code can be!

And now for the really awesome news: You can score a 20 percent discount on your first month’s subscription to Bitsbox! Just use the unique promo code SELENA20 at checkout and – boom! – 20 percent comes off the price of your first box! And you can use it on a one-month, three-month, or twelve-month subscription. So there’s no length requirement to get your discount!

Just a note: You can use this 20 percent off code on any Bitsbox subscription, but it is not valid for purchases from the one-time product shop or for subscription renewals. All subscriptions renew automatically on the first of each month, so if you want to cancel, you’ll have to contact the company before then. But I really don’t think you’ll want to cancel. 🙂

To learn more about Bitsbox, subscribe to the company’s mailing list for news about products or sign up for the special mailing list for educators to get tips for how to use Bitsbox for your kids!

Plus, you can keep up with Bitsbox on social media using the following networks:

Don’t forget to use the special promo code SELENA20 to save 20 percent off your first month’s subscription! And when you sign up and receive your first box, be sure to let me know how you and your children like it!

Get more tips for teaching STEM to your kids with my STEM for Homeschoolers board on Pinterest!

Monster Truck Unit Study

December 6, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We’re back with another one of our homeschool unit studies – this time it’s a fun monster truck unit study that boys and girls will love!

My children are fascinated with monster trucks, and why not? They’re big, seemingly indestructible, and they get to run over things all the time. Pretty awesome. Below we’ve gathered a fun educational video about how to drive monster trucks, as well as monster truck books for kids, crafts about monster trucks, and more!

If your kids enjoy this unit, don’t miss our Monster Truck Measurement printable pack – a perfect math activity for this topic!

Monster Truck Unit Study

Watch the following video and challenge your kids to answer the questions below.

How tall does a monster truck stand? (Answer: 12 feet high)
How much does a monster truck weigh? (Answer: 10,000 pounds)
How much damage does a monster truck cause in a single night’s performance? (Answer: $100,000 worth)
How does a monster truck driver steer both sets of wheels? (Answer: The driver uses the steering wheel to steer the front two wheels and a hydraulic switch to steer the back two wheels.)
How many speeds does the monster truck’s transmission have? (Answer: Just two – first and second.)
What keeps parts from flying off the trucks when they crash? (Answer: The truck’s parts are secured onto the body with tethers.)
How fast can the pit crew repair damage to the fiberglass truck body? (Answer: Within four hours)

Books about Monster Trucks:

These kids’ books about monster trucks are an awesome way to add reading into this unit! (Affiliate links are provided here for convenience. For more, see our Disclosure Policy.)

1. Monster Trucks (Mighty Machines) by Ian Graham

2. Monster Mega Trucks…and Other Four-Wheeled Creatures by Tim Kane

3. Monster Trucks on the Move (Lightning Bolt Books) by Kristin L. Nelson

4. Monster Jam: The Amazing Guide by DK Publishing

Plus, see even more great kids’ books about monster trucks below!

Monster Truck Books for Kids – Look! We’re Learning!

Monster Truck Crafts and Activities:

Try some of these fun activities and crafts to keep the learning going!

1. Monster Truck Measurement Printable Pack – Look! We’re Learning!

2. Monster Truck Sensory Bin – Crayon Box Chronicles

3. Blaze Monster Truck Craft – Kids Activities Blog

4. Monster Truck Phonics Jump – Growing Book by Book

Stop by to see some of our other learning ideas!

Get more ideas on how to use unit studies in your homeschool on my Unit Studies Pinterest board!

ASL Lesson 11: How to Use Signs for School in Sign Language

November 29, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

It’s time for another American Sign Language lesson and, in this video, we’re learning how to use signs for school in sign language!

In the deaf community, schooling is a HUGE part of life. Many deaf children and adults attend institutions that are specifically geared to the deaf and hard-of-hearing, so they make lifelong connections at these schools. Some deaf kids and adults, though, attend public schools where they receive instruction alongside hearing individuals with the aid of an interpreter.

Either way, learning how to use signs related to school is important if you’re going to try to talk about education or schooling with a deaf or hard-of-hearing person. And learning these signs can help!

If you enjoy this lesson, stop by and check out how to sign animals in ASL and how to talk about weather in sign language too!

How to Use Signs for School in Sign Language

In this video, you’ll learn the ASL signs for the following words:

School
Book
Homeschool
Homework
Graduation
Backpack
Math
Science
Reading
English
Writing
and History!

Just a quick note here: In ASL, the sign “English” typically does not refer to the school subject. It generally refers to the English language. Deaf people who are hard-of-hearing or who attend hearing schools, though, may use the sign for “English” to refer to the subject or the study of English lit.

Not many deaf kids are homeschooled (at least not that I know of), but since we’re homeschoolers, I had to include the sign for “homeschool”. And it’s a literal compound sign: the sign for “home” and the sign for “school” stuck together. 🙂

If you enjoyed this ASL lesson on school signs, check out some of our other American Sign Language lessons!

And get more ASL tips on my American Sign Language Lessons board on Pinterest!

Printable Spanish Flashcards: Spanish Alphabet Flashcards

November 25, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We’ve been working on basic Spanish with our kids for some time, but I realized recently that I’ve never shared a set of flashcards that focus on learning the Spanish alphabet. Whoops!

These Spanish alphabet flashcards are a perfect resource to help your children learn to memorize all 29 letters of the Spanish alphabet. (Yes, there are 29 letters.)

Plus, the kids can use the flashcards to learn a different Spanish word for each letter as well as how to pronounce them all! Read on to see how to get a copy of these cards for your students!

If you enjoy these printables, be sure to check out our other printable Spanish flashcards, including our Spanish verb flashcards and our Spanish color flashcards!

Printable Spanish Flashcards: Spanish Alphabet Flashcards

To use these Spanish alphabet picture cards, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are used below. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer paper
Scissors
Laminator (Good for keeping the cards sturdy)

In this printable Spanish flashcards pack, there are:

One set of alphabet flashcards in Spanish featuring one picture and vocabulary word for each letter of the alphabet
One set of English flashcards showing the English words for each Spanish letter card
And a complete Spanish alphabet pronunciation guide!

Scroll down to get your set of these Spanish alphabet learning cards for kids!

If you love these Spanish alphabet flashcards, check out our other Spanish learning printables!

To get your set of these Spanish alphabet cards, check them out below!

100 of the Very Best Picture Books for Preschoolers

November 21, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

I’ve been a parent for nearly 13 years and we have four children. So I can tell you that it’s easy to get into the “routine” of parenting – just kind of going from day to day trying to keep your head above the water.

But something happens when your last child begins preschool. Personally, that snapped me out of the routine mindset and into the “treasure every moment” way of thinking. The thought that this is my last child to teach at home was a real jolt.

Piglet started PreK this fall, so we’re officially teaching our very last preschooler. And, since she already has a good grasp on letters, numbers, colors, counting, and shapes, I want to spend a lot of her preschool year exploring wonderful children’s books.

So I thought I’d make an ultimate list of the very best picture books for preschoolers. There are 100 of the best children’s picture books on this list, including modern stories and classic picture books that preschool-aged kids will love to read! But be warned, parents: Expect to read a lot of these over and over again.

If you love these selections, don’t miss our preschool homeschool reading list for this year!

100 Picture Books for Preschoolers

This post contains affiliate links. See our Disclosure Policy for details.

1. Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae

2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

3. The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen

4. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

5. Waiting is Not Easy! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems

6. The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

7. The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

8. Press Here by Herve Tullet

9. The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin

10. Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

11. Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty

12. First 100 Animals by Roger Priddy

13. Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry

14. My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook

15. The Going-to-Bed Book by Sandra Boynton

16. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

17. Good, Good Father by Chris Tomlin

18. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr

19. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

20. Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

21. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

22. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes! by James Dean

23. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

24. Hands Are Not for Hitting by Martine Agassi, Ph.D.

25. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

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25 Fun Penguin Crafts and Activities for Kids

November 18, 2016 by Selena Robinson 5 Comments

It’s mid-November down here in the Southern U.S. and we’ve (finally) started to get some cold weather. So there’s no doubt that winter’s around the corner.

I have to be honest: Winter is probably my least favorite season. Me and cold weather just do not get along. (I’m from Florida. What can I say?)

But I do love making winter-themed crafts with the family, so I thought I’d find some super cute penguin crafts for kids to share today! And I’m not just saying that. These are really, really adorable.