Homeschooling My Kinetic Kids

/> Originally published on August 12, 2015 and updated on April 30, 2021. It's springtime!  Even thought it won't stop snowing and raining and hasn't gotten about 40 degrees, we're starting to see birds!  The kids are getting pretty restless getting stuck inside all the time, but they're enjoying all the variety of birds in our yard.  They have big plans for birdseed sensory bins, water fun, and other warm weather games.  Spring is also a great time for a bird, egg, or nest themed homeschool unit. The Little Book of Backyard Bird Songs Backpack Explorer: Bird Watch book Safari Ltd Backyard Bird toob Build a Bird Bungalow Kit Bird Sound Stuffed Animals Collection Backyard Explorer Dress Up Kit Birds, Nests, and Eggs book Western USA Backyard Birds Flashcards Hanging Bird Feeder   <>   Warbler Bird Whistle Toy Robin Stuffed Animal Puppet Safari Ltd Incredible Creatures Cardinal This is a Member's Only Printable! Sign Up for the Newsletter to Get

Originally published on May 13, 2015 and updated on April 17, 2021. My family loves Safari Ltd toobs for homeschooling, which is why this printable is one of the first things I put onto my blog.  Over six years later and it's time for a quick update on an old favorite.  These Montessori-inspired 3-part cards match the Safari Ltd Insects* toob and can be used in numerous ways for learning about bugs.  Scroll down to grab the printable for free! *Insects seems to be more of a suggestion than a scientific term for the manufacturer of these toys, but that can be a great lesson in itself.  What is an insect and what is not?  Finding names for all of the generic creatures in the tube was much more challenging than it usually is for me.  I did a lot of research and made my best guess to find names that match the look of the bugs. This is a Member's Only Printable! Sign Up for the Newsletter to Get It! (If you're already a subscriber, add your email again to get the s

Is there anything more exciting in springtime than seeing the first butterfly?  We love it!  As the weather gets warmer, our homeschool lessons start moving more outside or things that we can see outside.  Butterfly life cycles are so fascinating, and growing caterpillars is something kids should do at least once in their lifetime (I know some families do it every year). I'm always looking for new activities and printables to go with a butterfly or insect study and these Painted Lady and Monarch butterflies are great for celebrating springtime.  Putting this printable together was refreshing and theraputic.  I hope these colorful lepidoptera will perk you up, too.  If you're working on a theme unit on butterflies, check out the awesome resources below! How to Rais e Monarch Butterflies book Monarch Butterfly Anatomy Tshirt Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Set Monarch Butterfly Stuffed Animal Monarch Butterfly Dress Up Wings Monarch Butterfly Garland   <>   Monarch Butterfly K

The regions of the USA have a great variety of wildlife.  Whether you're studying the geography of the entire nation for homeschooling or you want to familiarize your kids with the animals in your own area, the Safari Ltd Great Lakes Toob  would be a great addition to your collection.  The set includes 10 plastic figurines of common regional animals including Canada Geese, Sturgeon, and Mudpuppies. I have a personal goal of creating Montessori-inspired 3-part cards to match every Safari Ltd toob.  I have several of them, which can be found by clicking on the colored text here.   I am pleased to add the Great Lakes toob to my collection.  Scroll down to get the printables for free! If I was studying this region with my kids, I would also add many of the animals from the River toob and the North American toob.   For this reason, I also added a few extra cards to the printables pack, so you can make an even more robust unit study.  Here are a few things I found to add to your learn

Once again, it's only a few days before a major holiday and I'm finally getting around to doing a blog post about it!  I was listening to The Prince of Egypt the Musical cast album this morning and realized that Passover is THIS weekend!  Passover is one of our favorite holidays, but it's always hard to remember since it doesn't have all the hype of bigger days like Christmas (although I still tend to do last minute things with that holiday too). If you're a Christian family and have been wondering about Passover, this blog post is specifically for you!  I want to set up a very simple explanation of the holiday for curious people.  I have written about Passover previously, but it was a long 3-part series and not as simplified as I'd like and not easy to share.  Obviously, there is A LOT I could write about and many more details, but I'm aiming to make this post short and sweet. CONTENTS: - What is Passover? - Why Should Christians do Passover? - Passover Sh

Every year about this time, the kids start wishing for warmer, drier weather, so they can start looking for worms.  They love finding tiny babies and fat older ones and carrying them around as their pets for a long time.  Spring is the perfect time to capitalize on kids interests of worms and add in lots of other learning too.  1- Read Some Great Books One of the easiest places to start when you're looking at a new subject is at the library.  These books offer both information about worms scientifically and tell fun stories featuring the wigglers.  Speaking of  Wiggling Worms at Work , this book explains how worms enrich the soil to help plants grow.   Yucky Worms  focuses on how worms move and where they live.  For a good look at their life cycle and anatomy, check out  Garden Wigglers , which includes all that and more.   2- Make a Worm Sensory Bin The blogger mom at  Montessori From the Heart  had a great idea for worm lessons using air dry clay to create both wigglers for playi