Homeschool Unit Studies: Hibernation Unit Study

November 9, 2017 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

We’re sharing another entry in our homeschool unit studies series today: a free hibernation unit study!

Since winter time is fast approaching, I thought it would be fun to look at hibernation – how it works, what it is, and which animals do it every year. Plus, it’s a great excuse for talking about sleep, which I desperately need more of these days. (I’m sure I’m not alone there.)

Even if your kids are always on the move and rarely want to sleep (like mine), learning about hibernation is just plain fun! It’s really amazing to learn about mammals that sleep most of the winter season and what they do to prepare for that time of year. And that’s what this hibernation unit is designed to help kids do!

If you enjoy this unit, don’t miss our bears unit study and our list of children’s books about owls!

Hibernation Unit Study

When we put together a unit study, we typically include books, crafts, printables, and more. While I don’t always use every resource, I like to have as many as I can. That way, we can always stretch a topic out if the kids are super interested.

In this hibernation unit, you’ll find books about hibernation, hibernation notebooking pages, crafts and activities for learning about hibernation, and a super cool hibernation facts video that really explains this process in kid-friendly terms.

Hibernation Notebooking Pages

These free hibernation notebooking pages are great for keeping up with the facts kids learn about hibernating animals.

Students can even use them to write down some of the answers to the questions about hibernation they learn during the hibernation unit!

Get your set free by just clicking the image or link below!

>>>Free Hibernation Notebooking Pages<<<<

What is Hibernation?

Watch the video below and see if the kids can answer the questions that follow! (The hibernation notebooking pages are great for taking notes as the kids watch, by the way.)

1. What is hibernation? (Answer: The long sleep that some animals take during winter.)
2. Why do animals hibernate? (Answer: Because the weather gets cold and food becomes hard to find.)
3. How do animals prepare for hibernation? (Answer: As winter gets closer, they eat a lot of food to store fat that will keep them alive during winter.)
4. Why do some animals store food before winter? (Answer: These animals wake up from their hibernation to eat a little.)
5. Name a few animals that hibernate. (Answer: Bats, snakes, bears, hedgehogs, ground squirrels, groundhogs, and marmots)
6. Where do animals hibernate? (Answer: Wherever they feel safe from predators. Some hibernate in caves and some hibernate under the ground.)
7. What is the difference between sleep and hibernation? (Answer: During hibernation, the animal’s body temperature drops and its heart rate slows down. These things don’t happen during regular sleep.)
8. What is it called when animals hibernate during summer? (Answer: Aestivation)

Hibernation Books for Kids:

Share a cozy storytime session with these kids’ books about hibernation! (Affiliate links provided here. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Don’t Wake Mr. Bear! by Jill Newton

Scholastic Reader Level 2: Hibernation by Tori Kosara

Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows

Hibernation (Patterns in Nature Series) by Margaret Hall

What is Hibernation? (Science of Living Things) by John Crossingham

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner

Sleepover with Beatrice and Bear by Monica Carnesi

National Geographic Kids: Sleep, Bear! by Shelby Alinsky

When It Starts to Snow (An Owlet Book) by Phillis Gershator

Baxter’s Hibernation by Michelle M. Birkenstock

Hibernation Crafts and Printables:

Try these crafts and printables about hibernation for more learning fun during your hibernation unit!

Did you enjoy this hibernation unit study? Check these posts out also!

Plus, get more ideas for homeschool units on my Unit Studies Pinterest board!

Want even more ways to make unit studies fun? Sign up for our email newsletter to get plenty of great homeschooling tips and resources in your inbox!

Sharks! – A Shark Food Chain Game

September 28, 2017 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

My kids, like most kids, just love sharks.

They are totally fascinated with how powerful they are, how quickly they swim, and how they eat pretty much everything.

In fact, I think that last one might be the thing they like most about them.

So I was ecstatic to get a copy of the gorgeous picture book “How to Survive As a Shark” from Innovation Press! As we read the book, we learned so many things about sharks that we didn’t know before, including how they sleep and what they eat!

And that gave me the idea to turn the shark’s diet into a fun file folder game!

Read on to see how to get a copy of this shark food chain game for your students!

Learn even more about marine animals with our list of beautiful books about dolphins for kids to read!

They’ll love studying how these animals survive in such a harsh environment, even when sharks are swimming around!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.

How to Survive As a Shark: Shark Food Chain Game

Most people (me included) think that sharks are at the top of the ocean food chain.

But they’re not! There’s an animal that eats sharks!

That was just one of the cool facts we learned from the gorgeous picture book “How to Survive As a Shark” by Kristen Foote and Erica Salcedo.

By the way, if you want to get the book for your kids, you can check it out through this affiliate link: How to Survive As a Shark.

In this story, a young shark gets taken under the “fin” of an older shark who’s survived some tough ocean battles over the years. He lost his eye in one and wears a wicked cool eye patch as a result.

Through the book, kids learn how sharks are born, what they eat as they grow, and what eats them! (I won’t tell! You have to read the book!)

After sharing the story together, we decided to make a simple shark food chain game to help my kids remember what sharks eat.

To use this shark file folder game at home, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Full assembly instructions are included in the product.

Basically, you print the game and glue it inside the file folder. Page one should appear on the left side and page two should appear on the right.

Cut out the game spinner (with arrow) and the two game pieces.

If you want the spinner to really work well, print it on cardstock or you can glue it onto cardstock after printing.

Use the brass fastener to attach the arrow to the spinner and you’re ready to roll!

With this game, players take the journey of a young shark from infancy to adulthood. Seaweed is one of the shark’s first foods.

As they grow, they consume larger and larger prey. As adults, sharks may eat squid and even dolphins!

This game is designed for two players. Kids can use the included game pieces to travel the board.

The game spinner lets them move from one to four spaces.

As they land on spaces with directions, they get to move forward or back.

The first one to the end wins!

This is such a neat way to learn what sharks eat and it helps to reinforce what they learn in the book in a fun, hands-on way!

Scroll down to get your copy of our Shark Food Chain Board Game!

Try some of these other ways to learn about the ocean!

To get your copy of our “Sharks! Shark Food Chain Game”, click the image or the link below to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

>>> Printable Shark Food Chain Game <<<

Homeschool Unit Studies: Hurricane Unit Study

July 24, 2017 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

It’s the end of summer and that’s usually the time that the Atlantic Hurricane Season kicks into high gear. We’ve been learning about hurricanes all summer long, so I thought I’d share a hurricane unit study! If you like using homeschool unit studies, this is a perfect way to talk about wild summer weather!

Hurricane Unit Study

I’ve always been fascinated by hurricanes. They’re basically cyclones over water, which is amazing in itself. They’re incredibly destructive, but the weather phenomena they produce is breathtaking.

We had to evacuate a couple of times when I was a kid and I thought it was exciting. As a kid, you don’t understand that the possibility of your house being destroyed is not a fun thing…lol.

Hurricane Notebooking Pages

Start off your hurricane unit study with these printable notebooking pages! They’re free and they’re super handy for writing down some of the facts the kids will learn in this unit. Just click the image or the link below to get your set free!

>>>>> Tropical Storm Notebooking Pages <<<<<

What is a Hurricane?

Watch the video below to learn about hurricanes form. Have your kids answer the questions that follow and record their answers on the tropical storm notebooking pages.

Where do hurricanes form? (Answer: They form in the warm ocean waters near the Equator.)
How do hurricanes form? (Answer: Warm air above the ocean rises, creating low pressure under the water. Surrounding air rushes into the low pressure area, forming an area of warm, moist low pressure that rises above the water. As air continues to rush in, clouds form. The ocean’s warmth and water vapor causes the clouds and wind to spin.)
How large can hurricanes become? (Answer: Up to 300 miles wide.)
What is the eye of a hurricane? (Answer: The calm center of the storm.)
What is the eye wall of a hurricane? (Answer: The wall of winds that surround the eye. These winds are the most damaging. The eye wall can be up to 30 miles in width.)
What are the rainbands? (Answer: The rain clouds that surround the eye wall. These can be up to 300 miles in width.)
Which hurricane categories are the most dangerous? (Answer: Category 3, Category 4, and Category 5)
How powerful is the energy released by a large hurricane? (Answer: Energy equal to the blast of 10 atomic bombs per second.)
What are hurricanes that form in the Pacific Ocean called? (Answer: Typhoons)

Hurricane Activities for Kids

These are plenty of ways to learn about hurricanes! Try some of these activities!

Label the Hurricane Activity – A printable diagram that displays the parts of a hurricane
Hurricane In a Jar – An easy science experiment that demonstrates how hurricanes form
Hurricane Comprehension Worksheet – Printable summary of facts about hurricanes
Free Printable Hurricane Booklet – A great tool for tracking hurricanes that develop during the season
Ridiculous Weather Report – Fun activity for kids who want to create their own weather forecast
Hurricane Fill-In-the-Blank Worksheet – A printable report that helps kids understand more about hurricanes
Hurricane Tracking Activity – Printable tracking map for hurricanes
Hurricane Printable Mini Unit – 16-page printable pack with facts and activities about hurricanes
5th Grade Hurricane Worksheets – Excellent hurricane printables for upper elementary kids with answer key
Middle School Hurricane Katrina Unit – Printable analysis activity for understanding the formation of Hurricane Katrina

Want to learn more about weather with kids? Don’t miss these other posts!

Plus, see more units on my Unit Studies Pinterest board!

25 Insect Activities for Kids

October 10, 2016 by Selena Robinson 11 Comments

Kids just love learning about insects! Maybe it’s because they’re so small. Or because they make grown adults (like myself) flee in terror. Either way, bugs are a super popular topic for learning in our family.

If you have budding entomologists in your home, they’ll love these insect activities for kids! There are printables, hands-on experiments, crafts, and games for kids of all ages who want to find out more about these amazing, creepy-crawly creatures!

For more buggy fun, try these cool picture books about bugs for kids to read!

25 Insect Activities for Kids

1. Bug Printables Pack – Look! We’re Learning!

2. Insect Sensory Bin – Stir the Wonder

3. Melting Insect Sensory Painting – Crayon Box Chronicles

4. Insect Small World – Childhood 101

5. Draw the Missing Half Insect Printables – Adventure in a Box

6. Insect Play Dough Prints – Learning 4 Kids

7. Insects Unit Study – Gift of Curiosity

8. Insect Emergent Readers – The Measured Mom

9. Montessori-Inspired Insect Unit – Living Montessori Now

10. Insect Nature Study Printables – Homeschool Creations

11. Insect Investigation Worksheet – Kitchen Counter Chronicles

12. DIY Insect Memory Game – Kids Activities Blog

13. Insect Hotel Activity – Teach Beside Me

14. Picture Books about Bugs – Look! We’re Learning!

15. Insect Counting Cards – Pre-K Pages

16. Build an Insect Activity – Handmade Kids Art

17. Insect Movement Game – Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

18. Insect Do a Dot Printables – Housing a Forest

19. Insect Lab Nature Investigation – Inner Child Fun

20. Indoor Bug Hunt – No Time for Flashcards

21. Melting Insects in Ice Activity – Learning 4 Kids

22. Learning about Insect Body Parts – Gift of Curiosity

23. Bugs in a Jar Math Game – The Measured Mom

24. Insect Alphabet Matching Game – Pre-K Pages

25. Ladybug Learning Activity Pack – Look! We’re Learning!

Don’t miss these other fun bug-themed activities!

Find more ideas for teaching kids about animals on my It’s Science Pinterest board!

This post is part of the 31 Days of ABCs series! Read on to see other great posts!

After taking a break last year due to the arrival of Baby #3, we are back with one of my favorite series, the 31 Days of ABC! You can look forward to 31 more days of activities, crafts, books, apps, and more, all dedicated to teaching young children the alphabet.

I am so happy to be working with an amazing group of kid bloggers, who will be sharing their amazing ideas with us in the coming days. And this year for the first year we are also adding a giveaway, so be sure to scroll to the end and enter for a chance to win!

So join us as we jump, skip, hop, and read our way through the alphabet this October!

31 Days of ABC

Teaching the ABCs – October 1

All Done Monkey: Creating a Preschool Letter of the Week Curriculum

A – October 2

Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails: Apple Scented Glitter Glue and Apple Craft

B – October 3

Witty Hoots: How to Make Fabulous Button Bookmarks

C – October 4

Preschool Powol Packets: Construction Truck Preschool Action Rhyme

D – October 5

ArtsyCraftsyMom: Printable Dinosaur Alphabet Sequencing Puzzle

E – October 6

Preschool Powol Packets: Elephant Art Project and Thailand Lesson

F – October 7

Spanglish Monkey: Spanish-English ABC Flashcards

G – October 8

Royal Baloo: Simple Ghost Painting Project

H – October 9

Peakle Pie

I – October 10

Look! We’re Learning!

J – October 11

All Done Monkey

K – October 12

Preschool Powol Packets

L – October 13

Raising a Trilingual Child

M – October 14

Creative World of Varya

N – October 15

Peakle Pie

O – October 16

For the Love of Spanish

P – October 17

Little Hiccups

Q – October 18

All Done Monkey

R – October 19

Sugar, Spice & Glitter

S – October 20

Crafty Mama in ME

T – October 21

Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes

U – October 22

Witty Hoots

V – October 23

Creative World of Varya

W – October 24

X – October 25

All Done Monkey

Y – October 26

Our Daily Craft

Z – October 27

123’s – October 28

Hispanic Mama

Prewriting – October 29

Sugar Aunts

Books, Songs, & Apps – October 30

The Jenny Evolution

Alphabet Clip Cards – October 31

The Kindergarten ConnectionFind more great resources in 31 Days of ABCs 2013 and 2014!

Interactive Homeschool Science with Scanorama Books!

September 20, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

I cannot tell you how much my boys love learning about animals. They get so excited when they get a chance to see animals up close or even just to read about them. A lot of it has to do with their fascination with the Wild Kratts, which is just fine with me!

In particular, my sons love studying animal predators. As typical boys, they love learning about big, strong animals that eat other animals. So I was psyched to get to try the Scanorama series from Silver Dolphin Books! One of the books is called Deadly Predators, which I just knew would be a huge hit with my kids. And they ended up loving it even more than I thought!

See why the Scanorama series is so popular with kids (even kids who don’t love to read) and enter to win one of your own below!

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.

How Do Scanorama Interactive Homeschool Science Books Work?

If you’re kind of puzzled about the name “Scanorama”, I get it. At first, I wondered what it was all about too. Here’s the simple explanation:

Titles in the Scanorama series let kids scan over images of animals and get an X-ray view of their skeletons. Did I mention I have typical boys? They were truly wowed by that feature, as you’ll see later on.

Oh – and see that book about dinosaurs peeking out from behind the Deadly Predators book? Read on for something awesome involving that one. 😉

There are three different titles in the Scanorama series available from Silver Dolphin Books:

Scanorama: Deadly Predators
Scanorama: Dinosaurs
Scanorama: Amazing Animals

We got a look at the first two. Take a look at the Scanorama series in action below. (This page is from the Deadly Predators book.)

See how kids can “scan” over the image and investigate how the animal’s skeleton contributes to its prowess? That’s just super, duper neat.

Plus, there is a LOT of information in each book about the kinds of animals covered. The Deadly Predators book contains sections about several types of predators, including scorpions, reptiles, big cats, sea mammals, and more.

Oh, and fair warning: There is a section about spiders, which contains vivid, full-color pictures of spiders. (Just so you don’t do like I did and drop the book in sheer terror when you come to that part.)

Learning about Big Cats with Scanorama Homeschool Science Books

When I handed the Scanorama series book Deadly Predators over to my boys, they had a short conference about which section of the book they wanted to cover first.

And, as I expected, they reached a unanimous decision: Big Cats. So big cats it is!

In the section, they got to examine five different big cats. And, since they’re already huge fans of wildlife, they knew some of the information. But, they were impressed at how long each animal was. I don’t think they had realized just how long a tiger can be before!

When they discovered the “scan” picture of the tiger, they truly came to life!

I had to keep telling them, “No. Wait. Let your brother have a turn.” and “You just did it. Let him try!” and “Okay, okay, everyone will get a chance.” I literally had two boys fighting over a book. That is an actual first in our household.

Even our preschooler wanted to get in on the fun!

Then we watched a short video about big cats. The boys really enjoyed it, as you can see.

Actually, they were laughing at the way the lady in the video says “jaguar”, but they were still learning something, I swear!

Finally, we took a look at the different kinds of prey each big cat eats.

And the boys did a quick matching activity using the diagram in the Deadly Predators book.

Finito! And we had all that fun just from one section of one book in the Scanorama series! Be sure to stop by and browse all three book titles and pick up one your kids will get excited about too!

Want one of these books for your family? Enter to win the Scanorama book of your choice from Silver Dolphin! TEN WINNERS will receive one of the three Scanorama books: Deadly Predators, Dinosaurs, or Amazing Animals! To enter, just use the Giveaway Tools widget below! (Books will be shipped to US or Canadian addresses only.)

Entry -Form

To learn more about the awesome books available from Silver Dolphin, follow the company on social media:

Now – for ANOTHER giveaway! 😉

Remember that Scanorama book about dinosaurs I mentioned earlier?

It’s just as awesome as the one about predators!

Right down to the scan-and-see-inside-the-creatures feature!

If you have kids that are dino-crazy, they’re sure to love this book!

So I’m giving it away to one of my readers! To enter the giveaway, stop by the Look! We’re Learning! Facebook page at 8:12 p.m. EST tonight! It’s the easiest contest in the world to enter, I promise. 🙂 Full rules will be posted and the giveaway will be open for a week, so you have plenty of time to enter and win!

Learning How to Use a Microscope in Middle School with Real Science-4-Kids

August 30, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

My new middle schooler has always been interested in science. She loves examining nature and conducting basic experiments. One thing we had yet to introduce her to, though, was the microscope.

When I took college biology last year, I had my very first experience with a light microscope and it was awesome. So I was excited to show her how to use it as well.

But I wasn’t quite sure how to teach her microscope basics. After all, my college textbook was a little too advanced. I still wanted her to have a chance to learn it without me hovering somewhere nearby.

Enter Real Science-4-Kids! This homeschool science program for grade 6 offers plenty of hands-on biology lessons and experiments!

Read on to see how we used Real Science-4-Kids to teach our child how to use a microscope in middle school!

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.

What’s Included in the Real Science-4-Kids Grade 6 Curriculum?

Real Science-4-Kids offers its science program, Exploring the Building Blocks of Science, in several grades, including grade 6.

The Grade 6 program includes the following materials:

Need a higher grade level? Exploring the Building Blocks of Science Book 7 will be released just in time for the new school year!

Initially, I didn’t think that I would need all three books. But as I examined them, I was extremely impressed at how clearly everything is written and how thorough (but not overwhelming) the program is.

The teacher’s manual is a sort of guideline for which lessons and resources to use and when. The student textbook is written directly to the student, so I was able to give the book to my daughter and let her read the lessons, define the terms, and follow the instructions herself. It’s a really great way to reinforce independent learning at this level.

The laboratory notebook is for students to write down and draw their observations as they conduct the experiments in the book. After all, the goal here is to raise scientists. 🙂

Want to learn more about Real Science-4-Kids? Listen to the program author, Dr. Keller, explain more about how the program works!

Learning How to Use a Light Microscope

Okay. Microscope time!

Ours is the My First Lab Ultimate Digital Microscope, which is monocular. But if you’d like a binocular model, the OMAX Binocular Compound Microscope looks pretty good as well. The student textbook contains a nice summary of the features to look for when choosing a good light microscope.

Unit 7 in the program deals with microscope basics. I assigned section 7.1 through 7.3 as reading. Then we started working with our microscope.

As you can see, my child was basically waiting for me to shut up so she could get her hands on the microscope.

To help her identify the parts of the device, we grabbed a few Post-Its and wrote the name of each part (corresponding to the diagram in the textbook) and then labeled them.

After that, it was easy peasy to fill in the diagram in the textbook!

As part of the science lesson, we looked at various biological samples under the microscope, including pencil markings and blood. Since we already had prepared microscope slides with a sample of frog blood, we didn’t have to prepare them, which saved time. But if you want to make your own slides, you’ll need to pick up some blank slides to get started.

First, we wrote down letters in pencil and examined them at 4x magnification and 10x magnification. Tigger wrote down her observations afterward and surprised to see how different the markings appeared at a higher magnification.

Next, it was time to examine a drop of blood under the microscope. This was really, really neat. At 4x magnification, we could see a pink mass with circles inside (the individual blood cells).

As we increased the magnification to 100x, though, we could see even more detail, including colors inside the individual blood cells. Following the experiment instructions, Tigger drew pictures of how the sample changed as the magnification increased.

I basically had to tear her away from the microscope afterward.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive (and affordable) grade 6 science curriculum, stop by and visit Real Science-4-Kids to pick up the Grade 6 Science bundle today! And science isn’t the only subject offered by Gravitas Publications! Visit the homepage to browse all of the company’s homeschooling helps!

Want to score this program for 30 percent off? Click the image below to get a discount on your science purchase through September 30! Or visit my referral link to get your savings! (Once you buy, you can also sign up to get your own referral link and get rewarded when your friends buy the program!)

Learn more about Real Science-4-Kids and Gravitas Publications by following the company on social media!

Get more ideas for teaching homeschool science from my It’s Science board on Pinterest!

Giant Panda Lapbook

August 29, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We had so much fun learning about the animals of the African Savannah with a lapbook that we decided to learn about a new animal this week: the Giant Panda! And we used another awesome lapbook from Knowledge Box Central to do it!

Giant pandas are probably one of my personal favorite animals. They are the epitome of squishy! If I could, I would pick one up and squeeze it for the rest of my life.

But it turns out that there’s a lot more to pandas than cuteness. Check out some of the amazing panda facts we learned using our Giant Panda lapbook!

For more on how to use lapbooks for other lessons in your homeschool, see our reviews of other great lapbooks from Knowledge Box Central, including a Cooking lapbook, a Math Mini Office, and a Hurricane lapbook!

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

Giant Panda Lapbook

As I’ve mentioned before, Knowledge Box Central is a superb lapbook manufacturer. I never have any trouble assembling the lapbooks or teaching the unit because all the minibooks and instructions are in the downloadable file. Super simple!

I was even able to use the cover page of the lapbook file as the lapbook cover!

Here’s the supply list I used to make this lapbook:

Colored file folders
Hot glue gun with glue sticks (for gluing the folders together)
Colored paper
Stapler with staples
Metal brad fasteners
Tacky glue (for gluing the minibooks into the folders)

So fun!

There are minibooks about the geographic range of the Giant Panda, how pandas are affected by poaching, the unique structure of panda hand bones, and the general characteristics of this species.

Plus, a tabbed book about how pandas interact with humans, the environmental impact of pandas, conservation efforts, and a panda word search!

There’s even a fold-out crossword puzzle!

My second grader couldn’t wait to get started! I actually had to tell him, “Wait, don’t do that one yet! We have to talk about it first!”

We started by examining the geographic range of the giant panda, which I’m sorry to say is not very wide. Pandas are only found in parts of three Chinese districts these days.

The minibook even shows how drastically the range of the giant panda has been reduced over the years. The culprit? Bamboo deforestation. As the available amount of bamboo dwindles, pandas have to climb higher and higher to find it, which takes a toll on the population.

And then there’s poaching, which causes more of a direct impact on panda survival. Sad.

We learned something really neat. The Chinese name for the giant panda literally means “Bear cat”. Know why? Pandas’ eyes are shaped like cat eyes, with a slit down the center! We spent some time drawing anatomically correct panda eyes.

Naturally, there was some time spent coloring the panda coloring pages.

And doing the word search!

My second grader really enjoyed this lesson and there were so many minibooks we didn’t even start! We’ll be learning about the giant panda with this lapbook for some time to come!

Check out this lapbook, plus plenty others, by visiting Knowledge Box Central today! There are a LOT of lapbooks to choose from and many are just $5!

Giant Panda Resources

Add these fun and educational resources to your study of Giant Pandas!

Giant Pandas by Gail Gibbons – A lovely picture book about this amazing species
Melissa & Doug Peek-A-Boo Panda – This sweet wooden toy is perfect for babies and toddlers
National Geographic Reader Level 2: Pandas – A good book about pandas for kids who are able to read on their own

Want to see more Knowledge Box Central lapbooks in action? Check out these posts!

Build your own unit studies using lapbooks and more with the tips on my Unit Studies Pinterest board!

Animals of the African Savannah Lapbook

August 18, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

My soon-to-be third grader is an absolute fanatic about animals. He loves learning about them, talking about them, reading about them, and watching videos about them.

A lot of his interest in the animal kingdom has come from his diligent watching of Wild Kratts, but there are very few animals I can mention that he doesn’t know at least something about. (Educational TV, FTW!)

So, this year when I had a chance to renew my relationship with the lapbook company, Knowledge Box Central, I jumped at the chance to try the Creatures of the African Savannah lapbook with him. I just knew he’d love it. And he did!

See how we’re learning about the animals of the African Savannah with a lapbook!

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

We’ve gotten to try other lapbooks from Knowledge Box Central in the past, including the Cooking Lapbook, the Hurricane Lapbook, and the Math Mini Office Lapbook. Visit our previous posts to take a look at them all in action!

Creatures of the African Savannah Lapbook

I love to lapbook with our kids, but when I was first starting out, the directions seemed a bit…overwhelming. I didn’t know how to get started, where to find good resources to supplement my unit, or how to get my kids interested in completing the minibooks.

So I love Knowledge Box Central! Their lapbooks come with clear instructions and diagrams that show how to assemble each minibook and where to place it in the completed lapbook. Plus, there is a printable lesson plan at the back that walks you through the information kids can learn and place in each minibook.

The lapbook instructions offer a supply list that describes the kinds of materials you’ll need to complete the project. Here are the supplies I used:

Colored file folders
Hot glue gun with glue sticks (for gluing the folders together)
Colored paper
Stapler with staples
Metal brad fasteners
Tacky glue (for gluing the minibooks into the folders)

Voila! Look at that beauty!

Whenever I open a lapbook, I get excited. It just looks like there’s so much to do! And since Knowledge Box Central makes it easy to know where to place each minibook, the finished product is always gorgeous.

Inside the first lapbook are minibooks about lots of African animals, including leopards, zebras, and wildebeests.

Plus, kids can learn about the differences between herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores – all of which live on the savannah.

More animal minibooks are located in the second folder!

My third grader wanted to learn more about the animals he wasn’t too familiar with, so we focused on jackals.

When he opened it, he just started to smile. He went through the lapbook, opening each minibook to see how it worked.

To start, we reviewed the differences between herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. Since he’s an avid Wild Kratts watcher, he already knew this and proceeded to teach me about it. 🙂 But the information is also located inside the lapbook lesson plan in case you need it.

As he explained the differences for each one, he filled in his lapbook. Here he’s working on the Carnivores minibook.

After we read about jackals, he wanted to talk about giraffes. We’ve seen them at the zoo, but he didn’t know that they have an 18-inch long tongue! When we read that from the lapbook lesson plan, he just had to write it down in the Giraffe minibook.

“Can I color the jackal on the cover please, Mom?”

Sure. Why not? 🙂

We had a blast with this lapbook from Knowledge Box Central! And we still have a lot left to learn with it! You could easily make this a three-week unit.

Animals of the African Savannah Resources

Once you grab your lapbook from Knowledge Box Central, round out your study of the Animals of the African Savannah with these resources!

Wild Kratts Season 3 – This season has the episode “Cheetah Racer”, which is based on the African savannah.
African Animal Alphabet (National Geographic Little Kids) – A hardcover book for small children, featuring pictures of African animals for each letter of the alphabet.
Ravensburg African Animals 3000-Piece Puzzle – This fun puzzle is a way to get the whole family involved in the unit!
Here is the African Savanna (Web of Life) – A beautiful picture book that highlights how the various African savannah animal species are connected.

See other gorgeous lapbooks from Knowledge Box Central on display in these posts!

$Teaching Math with Math Mini Office Lapbooks$

For more tips on how to create your own unit studies, including lapbooking, follow my Unit Studies board on Pinterest!

Homeschool Unit Studies: Learning about the Solar System for Kids

July 8, 2016 by Selena Robinson 6 Comments

For our latest post in the Homeschool Unit Studies series, we’re talking planets with a lesson on teaching the solar system for kids!

Many kids are fascinated with space. I know, when I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. We’re from Florida originally and I really, really, really wanted to go to space camp. But, alas, it never happened. I did ride one of those anti-gravity swings at Church Street Station in Orlando, though. Not quite the same somehow. 🙂

Now that my kids are developing an interest in space, I thought I’d put together a few resources for learning the solar system. There are videos, books, and activities below that make learning about the solar system even more fun!

Learning the Solar System for Kids

Watch the YouTube video and have your kids answer the following questions:

(Note: The last two minutes of this video include a hypothesis that states the solar system will cease to exist in 500 million years. Personally, I don’t think that’s true. And really how would any human even think they know what will happen that far into the future? But I just wanted to give you a heads-up in case you want to skip it. None of the questions below are about that part of the video.)

How old do scientists think the solar system is? Answer: 4.5 billion years old
How often does the solar system circle the galactic center? Answer: Once every 250 million years
Name the four terrestrial planets in our solar system: Answer: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Name the four gas giants in our solar system: Answer: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Why does Mercury experience large temperature fluctuations? Answer: Because a Mercury year is shorter than a Mercury day.
How hot does temperature get on Venus? Answer: Up to 497 degrees Celsius
Why is Earth able to sustain life? Answer: Because temperatures are moderate enough to retain a water supply.
Name the largest mountain on Mars: Answer: Olympus Mons (It’s also the largest mountain on any planet in the solar system.)
What two gases comprise most of Jupiter? Answer: Hydrogen and Helium
How many moons does Saturn have? Answer: 62
What makes Uranus unique? Answer: Its axis of rotation is tilted sideways.
How long is a Neptune year? Answer: 164 Earth years
How much of the solar system’s mass is made up by the sun? Answer: 99.86%
Where is Pluto located? Answer: In the Kuiper Belt at the edge of the solar system

And for all of my oldheads, here’s a classic way to teach kids about the planets:

Of course, back then we said “nine planets”, but it’s still a good way to memorize each one. 😉

Books about the Solar System:

Read these great picture books as a way to introduce the solar system for kids!

Solar System Crafts for Kids:

These solar system crafts and activities are fun, hands-on ways to make the solar system real to little ones!

Don’t miss our free printable Solar System Flashcards!

And see more of our solar system activities below!

Get more ideas for homeschool unit studies on my Unit Studies Pinterest board!

This post is part of the Solar System Unit Study Roundup! Check out more great ideas to teach the solar system for kids below!

10 Fun Children’s Books about Space from Crafty Mama in ME

Learning about the Solar System for Kids from Look! We’re Learning!

Children’s Astronaut Books from The Jenny Evolution

Melted Bead Planet Mobile from Schooling a Monkey

Stargazing Apps for Kids from iGameMom

Space sensory salt tray activities from The Usual Mayhem

How to Spot Meteors When Camping from FrogMom

3 Tips for Exploring a Nature Trail with Kids

May 6, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

As a bookworm, I haven’t been much of an outdoor mom. But my kids absolutely love the outdoors! So I’ve been making an effort to get them outside more often.

Which means I was psyched to join the A-Z of Outdoor Activities series! And for today’s entry (Letter E), I’m sharing 3 Tips for Exploring a Nature Trail with Kids! If you’re ready to hit the trail with your littles, see how we made it fun!

3 Tips for Exploring a Nature Trail with Kids

Let them set the pace.

Nothing makes a child hate something more than being made to do it on a timetable. I know, I’ve tried and failed at that with my kids.

When you get outside, everyone should be able to relax and feel at ease. And that means letting the kids set the tempo.

On our trail hike, the kids started off slowly…

…and then picked it up quickly afterward. I just told them to stay within eyesight, which they did (for the most part).

Stop and examine nature.

The whole point of a nature trail is to see nature, right? So, be sure to look out for interesting sights as you go. Don’t just focus on finishing the trail.

We came across this rotten tree trunk, which had become home to a spider web and lots of creepy crawlies. It was gross, but also kind of neat?

But it was mostly gross. 🙂

Have a goal in mind.

If your kids tend to lose interest in things quickly, you can keep them going along the trail by setting an endpoint as a goal to reach.

My kids needed the extra incentive of seeing something special at the end of the trail, so we chose a route that ended in a small waterfall. All the way down the trail, they kept saying that they were excited to see the falls.

And when we got there, they wanted to stay and just watch it for a while.

Seeing how the water “fell” and then formed a stream was pretty neat for them too.

They’ve talked about this experience almost non-stop since we left. And we’ve already made plans to visit the trail again! This was definitely a win for our family.

Want more ideas for having outdoor fun with your kids? Check out my Outdoor Play Ideas board on Pinterest!

This post is part of the A-Z of Outdoor Activities series from Crafty Kids at Home! Follow along to see all of the awesome outdoor activities shared this month!