Homeschooling Printables Archives

Travel Tales! Vacation Creative Writing Activity for Kids

July 22, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

It’s already back to school season. Can you believe it?

Personally, I’ve had a wonderful summer break and I am not in any way ready to get back to class. I have a pretty strong hunch my kids feel the same way.

But, like it or not, summer is coming to an end. So, I thought it would be a little easier to get back to ELA with this easy creative writing activity about summer vacation!

We usually take a vacation each summer. This year, we went camping for the first time. And we didn’t die!

My kids had a lot to say about that trip, but I also wanted to encourage them all to write about it, including my younger learners.

This simple vacation-themed creative writing prompt is great, because it’s a bite-sized lesson. So if you have reluctant writers, they won’t be intimidated by it at all.

Read on to see how to get your copy for free! And, for more fun with ELA, don’t miss my Donut Colors Sentence Writing Activity!

Travel Tales! Vacation Creative Writing Activity for Kids

To use this vacation creative writing activity, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Cardstock
Pencils
Child-safe scissors (optional)
Colored pencils (optional)

This activity includes five pages of prompts: four with different colors and a line art version.

I found it best to print it on cardstock, because I wanted kids to be able to cut out their finished writing and hang it up on the wall.

If you use the line art version, kids can color in the suitcase themselves!

Students can use this activity to describe their actual vacations or to write about places they’d like to go. And, since it’s evergreen, you can use it any time there’s a school break, including, fall, winter, and spring.

Scroll down to get your copy of our Vacation Creative Writing Activity!

Take a look at these other ways to learn with ELA!

Follow my Language Arts for Kids board on Pinterest for more ideas!

To get your free copy of Travel Tales! Vacation Creative Writing Activity for Kids, click the image or the text below to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store!

>>> Travel Tales! Vacation Creative Writing Activity <<<

Preschool Playdough Mats: Cupcake Playdough Mats

July 18, 2019 by Selena Robinson

It’s time for us to share another one of our preschool playdough mats and this time we have cupcakes!

Cupcakes are just plain fun. Whenever I say the word “cupcake”, I just start to smile involuntarily. It’s science.

So I thought these cupcake playdough mats would be fun for little hands! They’re great for building fine motor skills, color recognition, and more.

And they’re perfect for a cupcake unit! Because you can never learn too much about cupcakes, right?

Printable Preschool Cupcake Playdough Mats

Read on to see how to get your copy of these fun printable mats for some playdough time with the kids!

Ready for more fine motor skill fun?

Don’t miss our other preschool playdough mats, including Mountain Do-A-Dot Shape Mats and Fall Alphabet and Number Playdough Mats!

These printable cupcake playdough mats are perfect for building fine motor skills in preschoolers! Plus, they're adorable for a cupcake unit!

Preschool Playdough Mats: Cupcake Playdough Mats

To use these playdough mats, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links provided here for convenience. For more, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer paper
Laminator (to reuse the mats for another time)
Play dough

This product includes four different cupcake mats – two with faces and two without.

I thought the cupcake faces were adorable, but if your child prefers the ones that look more like food, no biggie!

Printable Cupcake Playdough Mats for Kids

These would make fantastic busy bag additions.

You can print them, laminate them, and add them to a busy bag with dry-erase crayons or dot markers and let your child color in the circles!

Personally, I love the use of playdough for fine motor skill building.

Kids can practice rolling the dough into small spheres and then placing them on the free spaces on each mat.

You can use different colors to practice color recognition or even work on counting by counting how many playdough balls you can add to each picture!

Scroll down to get your set of printable cupcake playdough mats!

Don’t miss our other preschool playdough mats!

Build fine motor skills and letter recognition with these fun forest alphabet playdough mats!

These beach themed number playdough mats are fun for practicing recognizing numbers from 0 to 9!

Try a fun way to teach counting to your preschooler - this Apple Tree Printable Counting Mat!

To get your set of these printable cupcake playdough mats, use the image or the link below to have it sent to your email inbox!

You’ll also get our weekly newsletter – this Sunday!

Click here to get your free printable resource

>>> Printable Cupcake Playdough Mats <<<

Animal Diagram! Habitat and Diet Animal Sorting Activity

July 17, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We’ve learned quite a bit about animal diets and behavior with our kids. But it can be tough to keep all the information straight in your head afterward.

Who lives where?

Who eats what?

And, once you learn that some animals live on both land and water and that some animals eat both meat and plants, it can get really confusing.

So we’re sharing a fun and simple animal science lesson for keeping up with animal diets and habitats – a Venn diagram animal sorting activity!

Printable Animal Sorting Venn Diagram for Kids

This is such a cute animal science activity for early grades! Plus, it can work as a science center activity you can reuse!

See how to get your hands on a copy below!

And, for more ways to learn about animal behavior, take a look at our nocturnal and diurnal animal sorting activity too!

Teach students about animals with this animal diets and habitats sorting activity! Such an easy way to learn about animal science with young learners!

Habitats and Diets Animal Sorting Activity

To use this printable animal sorting activity, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printable Animal Diets and Habitats Sorting Activity for Kids

This product includes a cut and paste animal diet activity, as well as a cut and paste animal habitat activity.

Printable Animal Habitat Sorting Activity

For the animal habitats lesson, kids can cut out each animal.

Then practice sorting them according to whether they live in water, on land, or both!

For the animal diets activity, they can cut out the animals and then practice sorting them according to their diet.

Be careful! Some animals eat both plants and meat!

And, if you need a little refresher on which animal goes where, there’s an answer key included for each activity!

Animal Diets and Habitats Sorting Activity

Scroll down to get your copy of our Diets and Habitats Animal Sorting Activity!

Want to learn more about animals with the kids? Check out these other learning ideas!

These simple bird species identification cards are fun for learning about common bird species during spring! Use them with early grades science lessons!

Pick up these printable sea monster notebooking pages to learn more about incredible creatures of the deep!

Learn about the fascinating world of sharks with this printable shark food chain game!

Learn about what animals eat and where they live with this fun Venn diagram animal sorting activity! Perfect for science centers and early learners too!

To get your copy of our Animal Diagram! Habitats and Diets Animal Sorting Activity, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store or check it out below!

Sign, Spell, & Match! Sign Language Alphabet Puzzles

July 15, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

I’ve always loved teaching our children American Sign Language.

We use ASL in our local congregation, but I also like using it to build early literacy skills in our kids.

In fact, when we practice spelling words, the kids generally fingerspell each word as they say the letter.

I’m convinced that learning to sign has made them better spellers overall.

Since ASL is such a wonderful tool for early spelling skills, I thought it would be awesome to combine it with letter recognition in these printable sign language alphabet puzzles!

Printable Sign Language Alphabet Matching Puzzles for Kids

These are wonderful for literacy centers!

Plus, they’d make great quiet time activities, since kids can practice matching up the puzzle pieces again and again.

Read on to see how to get your set!

And, for more practice with signing skills, check out our printable ASL weather fingerspelling lesson!

Ready to teach little ones how to sign? These fun sign language letter matching puzzles are perfect for building early signing skills!

Sign, Spell, & Match! Sign Language Alphabet Puzzles

To use these printable sign language alphabet puzzles, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

This set of ASL alphabet puzzles includes one set of three puzzle pieces for each letter of the alphabet.

Kids can complete each puzzle by matching the uppercase letter, the ASL sign, and the lowercase letter.

Cut them out and mix them up. Then challenge the kids to see how quickly they can complete all the puzzles!

Be sure to help them practice forming each ASL letter sign as they go.

These would also make a great take-and-go learning activity.

Simply laminate each puzzle, cut the pieces apart, and put the puzzle pieces into a reusable bag.

Kids can practice matching up letters on any flat surface while you wait!

Scroll down to get your copy of our Sign Language Alphabet Puzzles!

Ready to work on more early literacy skills with your students? Try some of these other literacy activities for kids!

Help early readers learn to rhyme with these fun rhyming word puzzles!

These fun ocean playdough mats are great for practicing literacy and fine motor skills!

Practice reading sight words this summer with these fun summer sight word flashcards! Great for building reading fluency before the new school year!

To get your copy of our Sign and Match! ASL Alphabet Puzzles, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store or check them out below!

Work on letter recognition and learn sign language at the same time with these printable sign language alphabet letter puzzles! Perfect for early literacy practice!

A to Z Race! Finish the Alphabet Worksheets for Kids

July 8, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

When I was young, I remember learning how to recite the alphabet in order with the ABC song.

Actually, I think every child born before 1985 or so learned it that way.

I thought I could teach my kids the alphabet in the same way. And they did learn to recite the song. But, when it was time to actually start reading, I’d forgotten to help them match up the letters with the sounds in the song.

We had to go back to the beginning and memorize what each letter looked like and then go back and review the order from the song.

These finish the alphabet worksheets for kids make that process just a tad easier.

These are simple to use with early learners. Plus, they’re free!

Keep reading to see how to score your copy! Want more ways to work on learning the alphabet with kids? Take a look at our Consonant and Vowel Phonics Flashcards while you’re here!

A to Z Race! Finish the Alphabet Worksheets for Kids

To use these finish the alphabet worksheets for kids, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer Paper I used Astrobright paper here.
Pencils

This product includes three different finish the alphabet worksheets.

All three have several letters of the alphabet missing, so it’s up to students to fill in the blanks!

Plus, each alphabet worksheet has a different theme, including space…

dinosaurs…

…and the circus!

If you’re working with these themes with your class, you can use one of these worksheets with each unit!

An answer key for each worksheet is also included.

Scroll down to get your copy of our Finish the Alphabet Worksheets for Kids free!

Take a look at these other early literacy learning ideas!

See more ways to teach early learners on my Learning for Little Ones Pinterest board!

Ready to get your hands on these Finish the Alphabet Worksheets? Click the image or the link below to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store and get them free!

>>> Finish the Alphabet Worksheets for Kids <<<

Finish the Emoji Drawing Activity for Kids

July 1, 2019 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Does anyone have kids who love to draw? My kids love to sketch and color and draw anything they can.

Unfortunately, my artistic skills are somewhat…lacking.

I didn’t draw much as a kid and, now that I’m an adult, I have what I call “artistic cowardice”. You know, that feeling when you think your drawing will be awful so you never have the courage to try? That.

What I’ve discovered, though, is that lots of kids also feel that way. And that’s sad. If you don’t think you can draw when you’re young, it might not get any better later in life.

And I wanted to encourage my kids to keep making art of their own, so I thought I’d dip my toes into drawing too with this fun Emoji Drawing Activity!

Since these are faces that are already half designed, all kids have to do is finish the other half. It’s easy enough for an art coward like me to do!

Read on to see how to grab your copy free! And, for more fun with Emoji faces, try our simple Coffee Filter Emoji Crafts too!

Finish the Emoji Drawing Activity for Kids

To use this finish the Emoji drawing activity, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

There are 12 different faces in this printable Emoji drawing activity, including the laughing Emoji, the smiling Emoji, the scared Emoji, the crying Emoji, and, everyone’s favorite, the heart eyes Emoji.

All we did was print out each page and then use colored pencils to complete the other half of each face.

Since the goal here is to complete the missing half exactly as the completed half, this is also an excellent way to learn about symmetry with kids!

Scroll down to get your copy of this Finish the Emoji Drawing Activity free!

Check out these other fun activities for kids while you’re here!

And see more ways to spend time with the kids on my Indoor Play Pinterest board!

To get your copy of this Finish the Emoji Drawing Activity, click the image or the link below to score it from my Teachers Pay Teachers Store for free!

>>> Finish the Emoji Drawing Activity <<<

All About the Solar System Printable Unit

June 27, 2019 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Are you ready for a printable unit that is out of this world?

We love sharing printable units with you guys! So far, we’ve shared several, including All About Snowflakes, All About Flowers, All About Beaches, and All About Leaves.

This time, though, we’re heading up into the universe to learn All About the Solar System!

This solar system printable unit is packed with awesome outer space learning activities for elementary-aged students!

This is an excellent science unit for helping students get to know more about the planets that are in the solar system along with our Earth.

Read on to see how to get your copy!

And, for more ways to learn about science, try some of these super cool water science experiments!

Ready to teach the kids about space? This printable solar system science unit study is perfect for exploring the members of our solar system!

All About the Solar System Printable Unit

To use this All About the Solar System printable unit, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer paper
Scissors
Glue
Pencils
Laminator (if you want to keep and reuse the flashcards)

This printable science lesson includes over 25 pages of activities!

Inside, you’ll find the following:

An introduction to each member of the solar system, with a fun mnemonic device for remembering the planets in order
A trace and write page for each planet in the system, as well as the sun and moon
A cut and paste solar system diagram activity where kids can label the planets in order (with answer key)
A solar system word unscramble activity (with answer key)
And a set of instructions!

Kids can learn about each member of the solar system with this science unit.

Solar System Printable Science Lesson for Kids

Along with the introduction to each planet, kids can practice writing the names of each planet they learn.

All About the Solar System Printable Science Unit for Kids

A fun solar system jumble activity is included too!

Printable Solar System Diagram Activity for Kids

Break out the scissors and glue for this solar system diagram!

All About the Solar System Science Lesson

If students are unsure which planet goes where, the introductory lesson is a great reference for them to use as they work!

Plus, our Solar System flashcards are inside!

Scroll down to get your copy of our All About the Solar System Printable Unit!

Love this printable unit? Don’t miss these posts!

Share a trip into space with the kids when you read these amazing books about the solar system together! These would make perfect read alouds for a solar system unit!

This fun solar system-themed edible playdough is a perfect sensory activity for summer!

These easy STEM activities for kids are great for building enthusiasm to learn science, technology, engineering, and math!

Learn about the members of the solar system with this printable All About the Solar System Unit for Kids! Such an awesome way to explore space with elementary ages!

To get your copy of our All About the Solar System Printable Pack, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store or check it out below!

Donut Colors Sentence Writing Activity for Kids

June 3, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

I’ve never actually sat down and written a list of my favorite things.

If I did, though, I think donuts would be near the top.

Down here in the South, Krispy Kreme reigns supreme as the best place to get doughnuts. While I’m a stickler for the unadulterated goodness of glazed, my kids love frosted donuts.

So I thought this fun Donut Colors sentence writing activity would be a neat way to get some basic sentence writing practice in!

These are fantastic for early writers who are just learning about simple sentence structure!

Read on to see how to get your copy. And, for more fun with sugary sweets, don’t miss our Big and Small Cupcake Worksheets for preschoolers!

Donut Colors Sentence Writing Activity for Kids

To use this donut themed sentence writing activity, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

This writing activity includes eight worksheets. Each features a different colored donut with a different sentence.

Students can practice reading each sentence, coloring each sentence, and tracing each sentence.

Then can write them on the lines provided – all by themselves!

Since each sentence uses two words that describe each donut, this is also a fantastic introduction to adjectives!

If you use literacy centers or morning tubs with your students, you could also use a laminator to laminate each worksheet.

Then hand them out or place them at centers, along with dry erase markers, for writing practice students can use again and again!

Scroll down to get your copy of our Donut Colors Sentence Writing Activity!

Take a look at these other sweet treat posts!

And see more ways to teach ELA on my Language Arts for Homeschoolers Pinterest board!

To get your copy of this Donut Colors! Sentence Writing Activity, click the image or the link below to get it from my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

>>> Donut Colors Sentence Writing Activity <<<

Easy Ice Pop Math Patterns Activity for Kids

May 30, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

I just love popsicles. Love them.

And if you have to teach a new skill to a child, it’s never a bad idea to add a popsicle or two. Or ten.

So when it was time to teach our kids about how to make basic AABB and ABAB math patterns, I thought it would be fun to make an ice pop themed math patterns activity.

Guess what? Our kids loved it!

So I’m sharing it with all of you today!

If you’re teaching basic math patterns to early learners, this popsicle math pattern activity is wonderful for making this concept into a hands-on math lesson!

Read on to see how to get your copy! And for more summertime early math learning, don’t miss our Ice Cream Shape Sorting Activity!

Ice Pop Math Patterns Activity

To use this ice pop math patterns activity, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

This math activity is perfect for early grades students who are learning how to recognize and complete AABB and ABAB math patterns!

This 25-page product includes:

Pattern pieces in two different color schemes
Pattern templates to complete
Incomplete pattern cards for kids to finish
And a set of instructions!

You can use these with child-safe scissors and glue for a one-time activity, if you like.

But I love to use it with hook and loop dots, because then I can use them over and over again.

If you cut the pattern cards into strips, you can even make this activity into a busy bag! Just laminate the strips and pattern pieces and let kids practice completing the patterns anywhere!

Scroll down to get your copy of our Ice Pop Math Patterns Activity!

Did you enjoy this math patterns activity? Take a look at these other early math learning ideas!

To get your copy of Ice Pop Patterns, check it out below!

Ice Cream Printable Summer Reading Log

May 29, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Summer is here!

It’s been a very long wait. Very, very, very long. Really felt like last winter was the longest in history.

I try to keep my kids learning and reading over the summer, but even that can get a little boring if I’m not careful.

So, I thought they’d have a little more fun keeping up with their progress with a cute ice cream printable summer reading log and I’m sharing it with all of you today!

This summer reading set is so fun for tracking books and pages read, labeling books with your kids’ names, and keeping up with where the kids left off in their reading.

Read on to see how to get your copy free! Woohoo!

And, for more ice cream-themed activities for kids, take a look at our printable Ice Pop Patterns Math Activity!

Ice Cream Printable Summer Reading Log

To use this ice cream printable summer reading log, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

This printable literacy kit contains four activities for little readers!

The printable reading log is an awesome way to track what kids read over the summer. They can fill in the date, the book they’re reading, the length of time they read, and the number of pages covered.

You can print as many of these summer reading logs as you need to keep up with all of the books your kids read.

The kit also contains eight bookplates that kids can use to label their special books. If you have several kids (like I do), this is a must. Cuts down on the “she took my book!” complaints.

And, if you’re a bookworm, you already know the vital importance of bookmarks.

So this literacy kit includes eight of them for kids to use as they read!

Four are color and four feature line art so kids can color the bookmarks themselves!

If you’re a teacher, these printable summer reading log activities would be awesome for take-home packets too!

Scroll down to get your copy of our Ice Cream Printable Summer Reading Log!

Check out these other literacy ideas for students!

To get your copy of this printable Ice Cream Summer Reading Log, click the image or the link below to head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store and score it free!

>> Ice Cream Printable Reading Kit <<<

Free Printable Flashcards: Solar System Flashcards

May 22, 2019 by Selena Robinson 10 Comments

When was the last time you recited the order of the planets of the solar system?

It’s been a while, right? So when we started working on learning the solar system with Pooh recently, I had to do a little…ahem…refreshing myself on the topic.

In the last few years, scientists have decided that Pluto no longer qualifies as a planet. I take great umbrage at this opinion.

Free Printable Solar System Flashcards for Kids

Pluto has been a loyal planet to us for the past 80 years. Breaking up with it now just seems….wrong. Still, we must march along with the progress of science.

So, for those of you who could also use a refresher on the solar system, I decided to add a new entry to our free printable flashcards series: printable solar system flashcards!

These would be excellent for early science centers or for use with an outer space unit.

Read on to see how to get your set for free!

And, for more about the solar system, don’t miss our All About the Solar System Printable Science Lesson and our roundup of beautiful Solar System Books for Kids!

Teach students about the members or our solar system with these free printable solar system flashcards!

Free Printable Flashcards: Solar System Flashcards

To use these free printable solar system flashcards, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are used below. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer Paper
Laminator (optional)
Scissors

This set of solar system flashcards includes 12 cards:

Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Moon
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Neptune
Uranus
Pluto (still included if you want to discuss it as a dwarf planet)
and Star

The goal is for kids to learn, not only the planets, but the other important members of the solar system and where they are located.

Plus, there is a full blackline set available! These would be awesome for in-class coloring activities.

Simple Hands-On Solar System Learning Activity

Instead of just making the printable solar system flashcards, I wanted to show you a simple, hands-on activity you can use them to do.

If you have active students or if you just want to add a little spice to your lesson, try this to help kids learn the order of the planets!

(Note: These pictures show an earlier version of the flashcards, but the activity works with the new set too.)

Solar System Flashcards - Look! We're Learning!

You’ll need the printed flashcard set, some masking tape, nine strands of yarn, and a flat surface.

Use masking tape to secure each end of each strand to the surface.

Try to get the yarn into a rough arc shape. We’re going for planetary orbit lines.

Printable Planets of the Solar System Flashcards - Look! We're Learning!

Then, have the kids lay out the planet cards in the right order, starting with the sun and progressing outward.

My son was having some trouble recalling the planet order, so we used the mnemonic device: My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nachos.

My – Mercury

Very – Venus

Eager – Earth

Mother – Mars

Just – Jupiter

Served – Saturn

Us – Uranus

Nachos – Neptune

*If you include Pluto, you can add Playfully – Pluto.*

It’s weird, but it works! Especially since I always seem to get Jupiter and Saturn backwards.

Printable Solar System Planet Flashcards - Look! We're Learning!

Naturally, we had to add the sun and moon in there too.

Be sure to remind your students that the sun and moon are NOT planets. I may have forgotten to make this distinction…lol.

Solar System Printable Flashcards - Look! We're Learning!

All done! And in order, at that!

That’s the face of a kid who knows he’s accomplished something.

Solar System Flashcards Printable Pack - Look! We're Learning!

When we finished labeling them all in order, we had he recite them in order on his own. Once he remembered My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nachos, he was good.

This was definitely a fun way to learn about the planets of the solar system!

Scroll down to get your copy of our free printable flashcards: Solar System Flashcards!

For more ways to learn about the solar system, check out these other teaching ideas!

Hands On Astronomy: Solar System in Playdough from Planet Smarty Pants
Blast-Off Number Line Math Practice from School Time Snippets
Solar System Matching Game from Life Over C’s
Outer Space Math Maze with ReGrouping from Sugar Aunts
Engineering Challenge: A Candy Solar System from Preschool Powol Packets

Don’t miss these other science learning ideas!

These fun weather STEM activities for kids are excellent for simple spring science experiments! Simple enough for home or the classroom!

This easy floating egg science experiment is so fun for kids who are learning about salinity! Great for science at home too!

These simple water science experiments for kids are easy to set up and fun for learning about science!

Solar System Flashcards for Early Learners

To get our free printable flashcards: Solar System Flashcards, click the image or the link below to have them sent to your email inbox!

You’ll also get on the list to start receiving our weekly newsletter with updates about our newest products. Yay!

>>> Solar System Printable Cards <<<

Summer Fun! Printable Family Summer Bucket List

May 16, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Summertime is my very favorite time of year. I think I have that in common with most school kids.

My kids always enjoyed summer break, too. Even though we’ve been homeschoolers for many years, we’ve always taken a break over the summer and this year will be no different.

Still, though, I never wanted my kids to just sit around being bored through June and July.

So I thought it would be good to share a printable family summer bucket list to give you some ideas for how to keep the kids (and yourself) entertained over the summer!

This is such a simple way to add fun to your summer without overloading everyone’s schedule. Plus, you can choose as many or as few activities as you like.

Read on to get your copy free! And, for more ways to have fun this summer, take a look at our list of 60 outdoor play ideas to share with the kids!

Summer Fun! Printable Family Summer Bucket List

One of my biggest regrets about childhood is that I didn’t spend much time outside. I’m a child of the 80s, so I was indoors watching television a lot.

Looking back, I think I would have liked being outside more if I’d had a better idea of what to do while I was out there.

So, if you’re like me and a bit…unsure about how to help the kids get outside more, this family summer bucket list is a perfect help!

There are sixty-five different bucket list ideas here for kids, including ways to have fun outside, places to visit over the summer, crafts to make, and ways to help others.

Some of the ideas include:

Going on a stargazing hike
Having a water balloon fight
Reading to others at a local nursing home
Going to the zoo
And many more!

How to Complete Your Family Summer Bucket List

So, once you have your family summer bucket list, how do you actually get around to doing the items on it?

Here’s an idea that may help.

Enlist your kids to make sure you actually choose one activity a day. Since there are 65 different ideas, you can try one each day and fill up the entire summer!

Laminate the bucket list and hang it on the refrigerator. As you try each one, check it off with a dry erase marker.

If you’re feeling really adventurous, let the kids plan your week by choosing seven activities themselves. They’ll be so excited to complete all the activities!

As a bonus, plan a special treat for when you’ve tried each item on your summer bucket list. You might even make some special family memories along the way!

Scroll down to get your printable family summer bucket list!

Did you like this family summer bucket list? Take a look at these other ways to spend the summer together!

Get more ideas to try on my Summer Activities for Kids Pinterest board!

To get your copy of our printable family summer bucket list, subscribe to our email newsletter! You’ll get this printable, plus lots of others, in our exclusive Subscriber Library!

Free Printable Flashcards: Butterfly Identification Cards

May 13, 2019 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Hi everyone! I’m thrilled to share a new set of free printable flashcards with you (finally!).

We’ve been talking about spring for the past few weeks, but summer is around the corner and that means butterflies!

I’m not the biggest fan of bugs in general, but butterflies hold a special place in my heart. They’re beautiful, but they’re also incredible!

They go through the most amazing transformation known to scientists: the metamorphosis from a caterpillar to a butterfly. Any creature that can do something like that is amazing in my book.

Today, I’m sharing a new set of flashcards: Butterfly Identification Cards!

These are perfect for learning to spot butterflies that live in your area!

If you love these, don’t miss our easy Toilet Roll Butterfly Craft for kids! And add our list of lovely children’s books about butterflies to your kids’ reading list!

Free Printable Flashcards: Butterfly Identification Cards

To use these butterfly identification cards, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are provided here for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

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

These colorful butterfly flashcards can help kids (and adults) learn to identify eight butterfly species, including:

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Green Birdwing
Peacock Swallowtail
Theseus Morpho
Malabar Banded Peacock
Monarch Butterfly
Common Buckeye
Peleides Blue Morpho

These would be wonderful for a spring nature walk!

Put all of the cards on a ring and take them with you to see how many different species you spot in your neighborhood!

Scroll down to get your free butterfly identification cards!

Don’t miss these other spring learning ideas for kids!

Get more spring fun on my Spring Activities for Kids Pinterest board!

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Summer Printable Sight Word Flashcards

May 9, 2019 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

Summer’s on its way!

And it’s a great time to start thinking about summer learning plans, especially if you follow a traditional year and take the summer off.

Unfortunately, over the summer kids can start to slack off a bit and forget what they learned during the previous year. But that doesn’t have to be the case!

Get your early learners off to a great reading start with a new set of free printable flashcards: summer printable sight word flashcards!

Printable Summer Sight Words Learning Cards

These are designed to help little ones get into the sunny reading mood!

Plus, these are a sneak peek into our year-long sight word learning cards set!

Summer Themed Sight Words Literacy Cards

Read on to see how to get these summer sight words cards – free!

If you enjoy these, be sure to check out more summer learning fun with our list of summer books for kids and summer printables for kids to use during school break!

Use these printable summer sight words cards to help early learners practice reading fluency!

Summer Printable Sight Word Flashcards for Kids

To use these summer printable sight word flashcards, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are listed below. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

In this set of flashcards, kids can learn the following summer-themed sight words:

Ball
Boat
Chair
Morning
Sun
Fish
Tree
And Water!

Printable Summer Sight Word Flashcards for Kids

You’ll find one set of cards with words and pictures and one with just pictures for memory skill-building.

Summer Themed Sight Words Learning Cards

Printed and blank sight word labels are also included.

There’s also a set of picture matching cards and picture labels too!

How to Use Summer Sight Word Flashcards with Students

To use these summer sight words learning cards, try some of these suggestions.

Review all of the flashcards with students. Make sure to talk about each picture before introducing the sight word.

Summer Sight Word Flashcards for Early Readers

After students have reviewed the sight words, introduce the word labeling cards and labels.

You can use these as a cut and paste activity. Or you can laminate them and add hook and loop adhesive coins to reuse the cards at centers.

Using Summer Sight Words Labeling Cards with Students

You might also find it helpful to keep the flashcards nearby so students can self-check their answers.

Students who are already writing can even use dry erase markers to label the laminated cards for themselves!

If you have pre-readers or ELL students in your class, the picture matching cards are a gentle introduction to reading.

Let students review the pictures and then use the flashcards to guide them in matching the cards and images with the right words.

Matching Summer Sight Words PIcture Cards

Scroll down to get your free summer printable sight word flashcards!

Check out more summer learning ideas for kids below!

Share some of these lovely beach books for kids this summer!

Make this easy sea animal suncatcher craft for a simple summer art project this year!

Use this Summer Color by Shape activity to help early learners practice recognizing shapes with a fun art twist!

Using Summer SIght Word Flashcards at Literacy Centers

To get your set of summer-themed sight words learning cards, click the image or the link below to have them sent directly to your inbox!

You’ll also get our weekly newsletter – coming this Sunday!

Click here to get your printable resource

>>> Summer Sight Words Learning Cards <<<

Ready to check out our year-long sight words learning cards set? Take a look at the full resource below!

Printable Butterfly Counting Activity for Kids

May 2, 2019 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Butterflies are flying all over our neighborhood these days. And it’s no wonder.

We’re right in the middle of spring and, down here, that means the typical six months of summer is on the way. Which means we’ll be seeing butterflies in the yard for weeks to come!

So I thought we’d try a fun, new early math activity – a butterfly counting activity for practicing number fluency from zero to ten!

This is such a cute idea for spring and summer learning. Plus, it’d make a wonderful busy bag for little hands.

Read on to see how to get your set. And, for more early math practice, take a look at our Colorful Birds Matching Activity too!

Butterfly Counting Activity for Kids

To use this butterfly counting activity, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer Paper
Laminator (optional)
Scissors

To get started, simply print the butterfly counting mat and the sheet of butterflies and numbers zero to ten.

Then use a pair of scissors to cut out the butterfly cards and the number cards.

All you’ll have to do now is set up the activity by choosing a different number each time. Then your child can practice counting out the right number of butterflies.

Since the number cards go from zero all the way to ten, you can just swap out the cards and let the kids get to work!

Or you can teach the kids how to change the numbers on their own and then challenge themselves.

Make it into a shared activity by switching the roles. Let your child choose a number card and see if *you* can count out the right number of butterflies.

Hint: Get it wrong on purpose a few times and see if your child catches your mistake!

Scroll down to get your copy of our printable butterfly counting activity!

Stop by to see these other early math learning activities!

And see even more ways to make early education fun on my Learning for Little Ones Pinterest board!

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Free Printable Flashcards: Counting Beach Balls

April 29, 2019 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Summer is on the way! And I, for one, am thrilled.

Summer is my very favorite season. My very favorite.

I don’t care that it’s super hot down here in Georgia. I don’t care that the mosquitoes are out in full force.

The sun shines all day and (almost) all evening and that makes me happy.

Plus, we usually end up at the beach, which is my true birthplace, no matter what my birth certificate says.

So, in the spirit of summer, I thought I’d share a set of free printable flashcards counting to ten cards with beach balls!

Printable Beach Ball Counting to Ten Cards

These are so fun for little learners who are practicing counting to ten over the summer!

They’d also make wonderful additions to early math centers when school is starting.

See how to get your set of these counting to ten learning cards free!

And, for more summer learning, don’t miss our roundup of 40 fun learning activities for summer!

These printable beach ball counting cards are so much fun for practicing counting over summer!

Free Printable Flashcards: Counting Beach Balls

To use this set of free printable flashcards: counting beach balls, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Beach Ball Counting Flashcards for Early Learners

This set of printable counting flashcards includes ten cards that show both the number word and the corresponding number of beach balls.

Plus, there’s a set of cards with the beach balls and blank label spaces.

Students can use the enclosed number word labels to match up the amount of objects with the correct number word.

How to Use Counting Cards with Early Learners

There are a lot of ways to use these with students!

Place the number word and object cards on a ring. Add them to morning tubs for quick counting practice!

Laminate the number word labels and add sticky hook and loop dots to make a reusable activity.

This would be perfect for centers!

Let the kids get a little coloring practice by using the line art version. Students can color in the number of beach balls that matches each number word.

Assign these as a homework activity!

Let students take a line art version home and color in the beach balls. Then they can cut and paste the correct number word label on each card!

Get a look at the printable beach ball counting flashcards in action below!

See the counting to ten learning cards in the video below!

Want more counting flashcards? Stop by 3 Boys and a Dog to pick up a set of adorable ocean animal counting flashcards!

Scroll down to get your copy of our free printable flashcards: Counting Beach Balls!

Take a look at these other early learning activities for kids!

Help kids learn about the members of our solar system with these printable solar system flashcards! These would be wonderful for a space unit study!

Work on color recognition with this cute bird-themed color matching activity for kids! So simple for an early learning activity!

Pick up the printable or digital version of these ladybug number word puzzles to teach early counting skills!

To get your copy of our free printable flashcards: Counting Beach Balls learning cards, click the image or the link below to have them sent directly to your inbox!

You’ll also get our weekly newsletter – this Sunday!

>>> Beach Ball Counting to Ten Cards <<<

Phonics Fun! Printable Phonics Flashcards for Kids

April 22, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Phonics are kind of a controversial topic in education these days. Some kids learn to read without ever practicing phonics, but some benefit by learning to master common phonics skills.

Personally, I’m for whatever helps a child learn to read.

Some of my kids took to reading right away. Others learned beginning sounds, digraphs, and suffixes before learning to read fluently.

So I thought these printable phonics flashcards might be useful to some of you as well!

These would be excellent for literacy centers, phonics reviews, and even “I Have, Who Has?” games! Plus, you can print them once and then use them over and over again.

Find out how to get your set of phonics flashcards for kids below! And, for more fun with early literacy, check out our Rhyming Word Puzzles!

Phonics Fun! Printable Phonics Flashcards for Kids

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

Printer (with ink)
Printer Paper
Scissors
Laminator (Useful if you plan to reuse the cards)

These printable phonics flashcards for kids include a complete set of vowel flashcards, featuring letters and pictures that have the correct beginning sound for each letter.

Long and short vowel sounds are included.

So, for letter A, there are two flashcards: one featuring a picture of an acorn (for long A) and another featuring a picture of an alligator (for short A).

Consonant sounds are included in this set of printable phonics flashcards too!

Letters that have more than one sound, such as G, have a flashcard for each type of sound: hard and soft.

In the example of G, one flashcard shows a picture of grapes (for hard G) and another shows a picture of a gingerbread man (for soft G).

Even tricky letters like X are included! One flashcard shows a word that begins with X (“xylophone”) and another shows a word that ends with the X sound (“fox”).

Color and line art versions of all the flashcards are included as well!

Scroll down to get your copy of our printable phonics flashcards!

Stop by and see these other early literacy learning ideas!

To get your copy of these Phonics Fun flashcards, check out the details below!

Revving Racecar Scissor Skills Printables for Kids

April 18, 2019 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Little Miss has been racing her way through all of her preschool lessons. She absolutely cannot wait for kindergarten this fall.

Remember when you were young enough to actually be excited about doing harder work like the “big kids”? Yeah, I don’t either.

Anyway, she’s mastered her letters, numbers, shapes, and counting, so we’ve been working on a lot of fine motor skills. And that includes learning how to use scissors.

Printable Racecar Cutting Practice Worksheets

With my oldest child, I put off scissor skills for way too long, so this time around, we got started with safety scissors as soon as possible. She loves it!

Racecar Scissor Skills Preschool Printables

Since she’s such a little firecracker about getting her schoolwork done, I knew she’d love these racecar scissor skills printables! These are super fun for little racers!

Read on to see how to get your set – free!

And if you love these, check out our Colorful Cars Basic Math Pattern Clip Cards! They’re great for building early math skills with preschoolers and kindergartners.

Practice cutting on the lines with these fun racecar themed scissor skills practice worksheets!

Racecar Scissor Skills Printables for Kids

To use these scissor skills printables, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are listed below. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

This printable scissor skills pack includes three worksheets:

Racecar Themed Cutting Practice Worksheets

One with a pink racecar and straight cutting lines…

Racecar Cutting Practice Worksheets for Preschool

One with a blue racecar and curved cutting lines…

Racecar Scissor Skills Practice for Preschool

And one with a yellow racecar and wavy cutting lines.

Preschool Racecar Cutting Practice Sheets

You may find it best to start with the straight line practice sheet and then gradually introduce the wavy and curved line practice once your learners are ready.

Using Racecar Scissor Skills Printables with Preschoolers

All you need to do is find a willing preschooler who’s ready to try these out!

Since this wasn’t Piglet’s first time using scissors, she didn’t need a lot of assistance, especially with the straight lined worksheet.

Racecar Scissor Skills Printables for Kids

But I did keep an eye on her – just to be safe.

The wavy lines and curved lines gave her a little trouble (mostly because she didn’t want to cut the racecars themselves), but once she got the hang of it, it was full steam ahead!

Free Racecar Scissor Skills Printables for Kids

Scroll down to get your free Racecar Scissor Skills Printables!

Stop by to check out these other fun preschool activities!

Make this simple toilet paper roll racecar craft with little ones for a quick transportation craft!

Get some early math practice with little ones and make this simple shape train craft!

Get ready for back to school with this super cute paper school bus craft for kids! So easy to make, even for little ones!

Racecar Scissor Skills Worksheets for Kids

To get these racecar-themed scissor skills worksheets sent directly to your inbox, just click the image or the link below!

You’ll also get our weekly newsletter this Sunday!

>>> Racecar Cutting Practice Worksheets <<<

Preschool Worksheets: Big and Small Worksheets for Preschool

April 15, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

I remember the first time Piglet showed that she was starting to notice differences in sizes. She said “Wow! Mommy! Your hand is much more huger than mine!” *giggle*

Since she has older siblings, she seemed to become aware of the differences between bigger and smaller pretty quickly.

After all, she wasn’t able to do a lot of things her brothers and sisters could because they were “bigger” than her.

To reinforce the idea of size differentiation, I decided to try some big and small worksheets for preschool. And I thought why not add a cute cupcake theme and make them free while I was at it!

I’ve been on a bit of a cupcake roll lately, so if you want to build a quick unit for your preschooler, add these worksheets for preschoolers to our cupcake letter matching activity and our cupcake playdough mats!

Plus, see our other preschool worksheets and activities for kids!

Cupcake Big and Small Worksheets for Preschool

To use these cupcake big and small worksheets, you’ll need the following supplies: (Affiliate links are listed below. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

These printables focus on helping preschoolers learn the difference between items that are “biggest” and those that are “smallest”.

Kids can practice finding the cupcakes that are biggest on one worksheet.

A second worksheet helps them practice finding the smallest cupcake in each row.

I didn’t want to do biggest and smallest on the same worksheet, because that could be a little confusing, especially for young learners.

A complete answer key is included. And, if you use the line art version, you can let the kids color in their cupcakes afterwards.

Scroll down to get your copy of our Cupcake Big and Small Preschool Worksheets!

Try these other fun preschool activities!

To get your copy of our Cupcake Big and Small Preschool Worksheets, click the image or the link below to visit our Store!

>>> Big and Small Worksheets for Preschool <<<

Printable Spanish Flashcards: Spanish Community Words Flashcards

April 11, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Learning about the community is a big part of preschool education. Remember when you were in nursery school and you learned about “community helpers”?

It’s also a key part of learning a foreign language. After all, you live in your community, so learning how to talk about it in your new language can really boost your vocabulary skills.

So I’m excited to share our newest set of printable Spanish flashcards: Spanish Community Words Flashcards!

These are great for kids and adults alike! And, since they come with a pronunciation guide, you and the children will be able to practice reading and saying each word.

Want more practice talking about community helpers in Spanish? Don’t miss our printable Spanish community helpers lesson!

Printable Spanish Flashcards: Spanish Community Words Flashcards

To use these Spanish community words flashcards, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are provided here. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer Paper
Laminator (if you want the cards to last for a while)
Scissors

This set of flashcards includes the Spanish and English phrases for:

Apartments
Bakery
Farm
Museum
Airport
Library
House
and School!

There’s also a Spanish pronunciation guide to help you get used to saying the Spanish phrases!

Use one set to help kids identify each building or place in their native language. Then use the second set to introduce the new vocabulary. You can even play a matching game!

Scroll down to get your Spanish Community Words Flashcards!

Don’t miss some of our other printable Spanish flashcards!

More Resources for Learning Spanish Community Words:

If you want even more help to learn Spanish, try these great Spanish learning resources!

See more printable resources on my Homeschool Printables Pinterest board!

To get your set of our Spanish Community Words Flashcards, sign up for our email newsletter! You’ll receive access to these printable Spanish flashcards, plus lots of other printables, in our exclusive Subscriber Library!

Free Printable Flashcards: Addition Flashcards 0-10

April 4, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We’ve been working to help our kids memorize addition facts for the past few weeks, so I thought I’d make a new set of free printable flashcards: addition flashcards 0-10!

But the thing about addition facts is that they’re pretty boring, right? Naturally, I had to add a little fun to these cards. What’s more fun than a trip to the state fair?

Read on to get your set of these free state fair-themed addition flashcards!

And, for more flashcards to make math learning fun, try our printable polygon flashcards or our fraction flashcards!

Free Printable Flashcards: Addition Flashcards 0-10

To use these addition flashcards 0-10 with your kids, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are provided here for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer paper
Scissors
Laminator (if you want the cards to last for a while)

This pack includes 30 pages of addition flashcards, featuring problems from 0+0 to 10+10.

There’s also an Answer Key included!

Try to play a game where kids can match up even sums and odd sums.

Or have the kids match similar sums to find how many ways they can add numbers and reach the same answer.

You could even challenge kids by giving them an answer and seeing if they can find the math problem that will result in that answer.

Scroll down to get your copy of our free printable flashcards addition flashcards 0-10!

Check out some of our other math learning ideas below!

For more ideas for teaching math, follow my Math Mania board on Pinterest!

To get your set of our Amusement Park Addition Flashcards, subscribe to our email newsletter using the widget below!

You’ll get these printable addition flashcards, plus lots of other freebies that are exclusively for subscribers!

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