Homeschooling My Kinetic Kids

Did you know that the jaguar has the strongest bite force of all the big cats?  You'd think it would be the tiger, since it's the largest.  Nope!  It's the lithe jungle cat- the jaguar- that takes that crown.  There's really so much to learn about the rainforest, it's almost a never ending topic.  It's my hope that this post will get you excited about learning and give you a few places to begin your exploration.



Learn About the Rainforest
1- Many of the foods we eat and products we interact with every day come from the rainforest.  A great place to start exploring is the produce section of the grocery store, since up to 80% of our food originated there.  Things like avocado, bananas, pineapple, tomato, mango, and more!  Have the kids pick something new to try and a few of your favorites, then use the stickers on the fruit to find out where it's from.  Look at a world map and match them.  Which fruit came the furthest?  Here is a printable if you'd like …

Several months ago, I saw this amazing idea on Instagram that I knew I needed to make my own one day.  A mom and blogger at "The Rome Home" featured a horse learning theme with a mystery word activity called, "Stable Secrets."  From the first moment I saw the post, I was trying to find a theme to match it.  When I bought this garden clip art pack from Etsy recently, I knew I had found the perfect kit to finally do the mystery word printable!

Since we're talking about words and helping kids learn to read, I thought a book list would be a good place to start.  All of these books are nonfiction resource books for learning about plants and how seeds grow.  From toddlers to upper elementary- you should be able to find the perfect book for your crew.  Click on the colored text to learn more about the books.


Trees, Leaves, Flowers, and Seeds
From Seed to Plant  <>  How Seeds Grow
Botanicum- Welcome to the Museum
Flower Alphabet  <>  The Tiny Seed
Up in the Gar…

I've never been very excited about botany or plant life cycles.  I prefer biology instead, and this blog reflects that in a big way (even though my kids are always telling me what animals I'm still missing).  With everyone in isolation for the virus, my FB and Instagram feed are filled with people setting up gardens with their kids.  Although I still have no desire to plant my own garden, I've caught the bug in form of lots of gardening-themed printables to be released this month.

Last year, I went nuts with the battleship style math games with several different themes. I have ones for rubber duckies, penguins, oreos, star wars, dinosaurs, and multiplication.  Since I'm crazy about this fun garden clip art pack from Etsy now, I decided that I need to make a garden one too.  And who are the enemies of the garden?  Adorable bunnies, of course!



The Tale of Peter Rabbit book  <>  Peter Rabbit Toy
It's Not Easy Being a Bunny book  <>  Calico Critter Rabbit Fa…

I'm continuing the garden theme this week (I promised to go all month) with several games that you can play with your kids to sneak in some great learning in a fun way.  Today, we have more math activities to work on some basics- a Make 10 Game!  It's a super easy game to play with early elementary aged kids, but there are also lots of other things you can do with the set too.  The set features 100 wood disks (I bought mine from Etsy) made into 100 fruit and vegetable rounds with numbers 1-9 and bunnies on the opposite side.



To assemble your Make 10 game, print the entire PDF single-sided on cardstock.  You'll also need the 100 wood disks, packing tape, and a glue stick.  Each wood disk will have a fruit or veggie one side and a number 1-9 or bunny on the other side.  I recommend working with one fruit or veggie at at time, cutting them out by strips (2 for each one) and covering the front side of the printable with packing tape.  Then, cut out all 10 veggie circles and g…

It's SPRING!!!!  Even though it's snowed every day this week, it's now April and time for spring activities like gardening.  Since I tend to kill every plant I touch, I bought this garden clip art pack to create some themed learning printables instead.  I have lots of fun plans for the whole month, covering many different subjects.

Even though I have a "brown thumb," I still fully support kids playing with garden toys, planting their own gardens, and learning about plants.  This is a great time of the year to try some kitchen scrap replanting or starting seeds to transfer outside when it gets warmer.  Check out this list of fun garden tools below and click the colored text to read more.


Kid-Sized Picnic Table and Umbrella
Veggie Sort Game  <>  Kid Planting Table
Farmer's Market Color Sort Toy
Plant Life Cycle Figurines  <>  Butterfly Garden
Fairy Garden Planter and Accessories
Pizza Herb Garden  <>  Garden Tools
Dinosaur Garden  <>  Root Vie…

Easter is two weeks from today, but it looks like we're still going to be in isolation on that day.  All around the United States and the world, governments are constraining their citizens to home with "shelter in place" orders and quarantines.  Our entire lives have changed in a very short amount of time as the entire world reacts to Covid-19.  Unfortunately, our Easter Sunday traditions are going to have to change as well.

A time of great change is also a time of new memories and traditions.  Many of the things you already do can be slightly modified to make them acceptable for quarantine time.  Other things can be different, but still amazing.  It's also a good time to talk about history and some of the challenging Easter Sundays throughout time.  Draw near to your family and make some great memories with this A-Z list!



In many churches, Easter morning service includes some sort of "Passion Play" (not affiliated with the church) or special drama for all…