Homeschooling My Kinetic Kids

I probably should have posted this a month or so ago when everyone was talking about getting their  Butterfly Growing Kit  from Insect Lore in the mail.  I'm a bit slow to catch on to those things, but I decided to post this Montessori-inspired life cycle set anyways.  Perhaps someone who is still considering getting caterpillars and growing butterflies will have use for them, and I know they will be useful for years to come. These 3-part cards match the Insect Lore Painted Lady figurines, and are a great companion to the  butterfly kit .  The cards go through the four life stages of butterflies, from egg to caterpillar to pupa, and finally to adult butterfly.  Print two copies of the cards to make the traditional Montessori 3-part card activity (see the picture at the above for instruction).  Have the child match the figurines to the picture, the label, and the whole card (pictures and label) for reading and spelling practice. This i...

Tomorrow, June 1, is National Donut Day!  Our tradition is to go to our favorite donut shop for a treat.  Do you celebrate?  Comment at the end of the post and tell me about it.  Yesterday, I posted a donut math activity to add to my collection of donut themed learning fun.  Today, I'm sharing a Montessori-inspired moveable alphabet. The letters can be used to spell words that the child isn't able to write yet.  If the letters will be used primarily for spelling, I recommend printing more than one set.  In the official Montessori moveable alphabet, the vowels are blue and the consonants are red.  In my set, I reversed the colors and made the vowels pink.  I also made the uppercase letters with a brown background and the lowercase letters have a white frosting background, which is designed to make it easier for kids to recognize the differences between upper and lowercase. The PDF also includes two alphabet learning activities, vocabulary car...

Dragonfly loves all animals, but goes crazy for kitties.   She pounces on our cat whenever she sees her, and meows at every mention or picture of kittens that crosses her path.  When she was having a bit of trouble with her math workbook a few months ago, she asked me to make these specially designed kitty counters just for her. Like all my printable math counters, these kitties can be mounted on 1 inch wood disks .  I printed them and then laminated the front side with packing tape.  Then, I stuck them onto the wood with a glue stick.  The 20-frame can be laminated for durability. There are three different cat pictures, which can be used to represent quantities of numbers when adding three groups.  Kids can also use the 20-frame to represent numbers or work on subtraction problems, too. > > > Click Here to Download the Printable < < < Other Themed Math Counters Lots of Fun Themes  (savannah, desert, woodland, octopus, rainforest) Mo...

M is for May and Memorial Day and Monster Trucks!  On this last full week of May, let's make it a monster truck theme!  My boys love monster trucks- actually one of them is zooming and bamming his truck next to me right now.  They come with such fun names like "El Toro Loco," "Brodozer," "Megalodon," and "Black Pearl." It's probably not a surprise, but the boys also love everything Monster Jam.  Ever since they went to an event this winter, they talk monster trucks all the time and always want to tell strangers about their amazing experience.  If you're raising a truck enthusiast too, check out these great products below and click the words under the pictures to read more about them. Remote Control Truck   ➽   Monster Jam Book   ➽   Mini Shooters Official Guidebook   ➽   Truck with Dirt Magalodon Truck   ➽   Ear Protection   ➽   Vitamin Gummies    Truck Decals   ➽ ...

I had a comment on my Insect Letter Cards post asking for ocean cards next.  Since I love making printables, and I love hearing from my reader's even more, I was very happy to comply!  These were fun for my family, too, as we get ready for our summer beach trip.  Of course, these cards are great for a seaside vacation, a road trip, some summer learning, or an ocean theme unit any time of the year! We've been talking a lot about the ocean lately at our house, so I have some more beach and ocean blog posts coming soon.  Here are a few ocean animals for your own themed study, sensory bin, or play time.  Be sure to check out my ocean learning area with more resources and come back soon for more printables and ideas! Jellyfish   +  Sea Turtle   +  Lobster   +  Walrus Grey Whale   +  Sperm Whale   +   Killer Whale Blue Crab   +  Great White Shark   +  Moray Eel   +  Nudibranch Cal...

We're preparing as a family for a road trip to the Oregon Coast, which will include a short field trip to a fish hatchery.  In the Northwest USA, trout and salmon are some of our most common fish for eating.  Because they're a popular fishing target, they have human help for reproduction to restock the lakes, rivers, and streams.  We're hoping to learn a little about that process (and see a huge, old sturgeon) when we visit the hatchery. In anticipation of our trip, I wanted to start gathering some resources for learning about freshwater fish (look for more in the near future).  To start, I grabbed these science books about them, focusing on their life cycles and ecology of the forest.  I also included a few toys, because I couldn't resist. Magic School Bus goes Upstream   ⚈   Run, Salmon, Run Trout, Trout, Trout   ⚈   Bull Trout's Gift   ⚈   Salmon Forest Butternut Hallow Pond   ⚈  ...

The grass is finally green in our yard, and the children's days are filled with jumping on the trampoline, riding bikes, and bug hunting.  Already, the children have been bringing me "baby" earthworms to see, and we've evacuated a yellow jacket from our home.  Soon, the local beekeeper will have his hives out in his yard, and we'll be able to watch the bees swarm home in the evening. It's springtime!  Time to grab the bug hunting supplies and get outside! Critter Case    ⧫   Bug Vacuum and Cage    ⧫   Bug Catching Kit Bug Net    ⧫   Sunny Bug House    ⧫   Worm Farm Cargo Vest    ⧫   Magnifying Glass    ⧫    Spider   ⧫    Giant Bugs Bug Playground    ⧫   Bug Watch with Containers Backyard Exploration Kit    ⧫  Monarch Butterfly    ⧫    Safari Hat Worm Life Cycle Set    ⧫ ...