Homeschooling My Kinetic Kids

March 28, 2021, is the full moon known as the "Worm Moon."  It's a celebration of springtime and the return of worms into the soil.  If you have kids who are still learning how to write letters and number, this sensory writing tray will be a great way to celebrate.  I absolutely love doing these themed writing trays, so click on the colored text below to see all I've created so far. Lots of Sensory Writing Tray Ideas HERE I made this writing practice tray in a 7x8 shallow black tray, which I've found to be a good size for kids.  The sensory material is plain flour mixed with cocoa powder or you could use dry cake mix.  Of course, dirt is an easy thing to use as well. After you print the letter cards (upper and lowercase included), your child can practice writing the letters on the cards or in the chocolate dirt.  If you laminate the cards, your kids can write on them over and over with dry erase markers.  Punch a hole in the corner and add a binder ri...

All this week, I've been doing a salmon and freshwater fish theme with science, sensory, literacy, and more!  Today, I'm adding to my collection with a fishy writing tray.  This easy to set up activity is especially good for reluctant or beginner writers.  It would make an fun literacy station in a classroom, too. Making Montessori-inspired salt trays for writing in many different themes is one of my favorite things.  I have trays (and FREE printables) for Mickey Mouse, watermelon, apple pie, monster trucks, and so many more.  They can be made for any theme, color, or occasion that you want.  Shoot me a message on Facebook or comment below if you have a theme you'd like to see! For this fish tray, I used blue dyed salt, which is really easy to make.  Just dump however much salt you want to use (I did about two tablespoons) into a zip top bag and add 1 drop of blue food coloring.  If you want, you can try to make a more green grey col...

I can hardly believe that it's almost Valentine's Day already!  This year has been going very quickly (it must be all the crafting I've been doing).  Holidays are a great opportunity to infuse a bit of fun into your homeschooling or classroom.  One of my favorite ways to add something different is through math and reading. For this year's Valentine's Day printable, I created some letter tracing cards to help kids work on their handwriting.  I highly recommend printing them on cardstock, laminating them, and letting kids use white board markers to write on them over and over.  My kids like to test their muscle memory and writing skills by writing on the backside too.  In the PDF, I've included a fun "cookie" backside page, so you can make the cookies look fun on both sides. > > > Click Here to Download < < < This printable is for blog subscribers. Please enter your email into the box above for the password. ...

It is officially Pumpkin Spice Latte season!  Even if you don't like the hot coffee drink, there are still plenty of other pumpkin spice products to chose from!  Everything from cereal flavors to snack mix and dog toys to kids' toys screams out the merits of pumpkin spice.  My personal favorite is pumpkin muffins.  I think I've made a batch every week! If you've been following this blog recently, you know that I'm loving sensory writing trays lately.  They're awesome for encouraging reluctant writers, they can be easily customized to any theme, and they're cheap!  It's just as easy to make one of them as it is to make an entire classroom set of them, so they're great for morning busy bins, homeschooling, or sensory play. > > > Click Here to Download < < < This printable is only for blog subscribers. Enter your email above to gain access to the password. This sensory writing tray starts with a base of ...

I absolutely love apples in autumn!  From the apple festival in first grade, which included apple tasting, to all the trips to the orchard in my childhood, to the first apple pie of the season, apples are the perfect way to start a new school year.  Every year, as the weather turns cooler, my thoughts turn to apples once again.  To see all the apple ideas and printables , click on the colored text. I talked about our cinnamon apple salt tray last week in my end of the week post, but I wanted to add a free printable (did you know I have nearly 300 FREE ones).  To make the scented salt, take about an ounce of salt in a ziplock bag and add some cinnamon or other spices.  Then, add a small amount on a shallow tray and allow your child to form letters or draw pictures in the salt. The sensory writing experience helps kids to remember the feel of the letters as they write them.  As well as being seasonal and fun, the spices add an additional sensory elem...

We finally and officially started our new homeschool year!  Although the kids have been eager to begin our new year for about a month, I held them off until after Labor Day, because I'm a traditionalist (wink).  We were very fortunate this year that the wildfires in our area weren't very bad, so we actually got to enjoy our summer by spending a lot of time outside .  It was a good couple of months, and we're ready for the next season. We always like to start September with a bit of apple fun (see this menu for ideas and printables), so I put together an easy apple pie writing tray for the boys.  They spent a bit of time during school working on the troublesome letters in their names and learning how to write them more efficiently.  They both enjoyed the smell of cinnamon and other spices in the salt (more sensory tray ideas here). On the Tuesday after the long holiday weekend, when all the schools around were back in session, we celebrated our h...

For a last week, we've been exploring some construction literacy activities for kids.  My kids love this type of theme, one with lots of dirt, trucks, and tools.  If your kids are like mine, then these construction learning activities will be great for them.  Whether you're trying to teach them the importance of stopping when you say, how to make equations to 10, or learning letters, you'll find something to do with them. Build 10 with Nuts and Bolts // Pocket of Preschool Road Construction Stop and Go // Still Playing School Construction Books // From Engineer to SAHM Phonics Sort // Preschool Play and Learn Build-a-Letter // Homeschooling My Kinetic Kids Letter Trace // Kindergarten Worksheets and Games Construction Slime // 123 Homeschool 4 Me Vehicle 3-Part Cards // Wise Owl Factory Construction Site Field Trip // Carrots are Orange Building Rock Houses // Pink Stripy Socks Make a Number Towers ...

It's almost time to switch over to fall activities, but before we leave summer behind, I had to do one more classic theme.  Construction!  The main highway in our town has been under construction for years (and will be for years to come) so there has been plenty of opportunity for the kids to observe road construction and it's process. For today's activity, I thought about making roadways, but that has been done.  Instead, I thought we'd focus on a different aspect of construction.  I know that it's not the most authentic building set, but I still think that it turned out very cute.  Besides, my kids like it (wink). Skimmer (age 5) helped me set up this picture, including placing the washi tape .  The boys are so excited about this letter building kit and can't wait to dive into the activity this week.  Don't you just love these  Tool Pens ?  They're adorable! Can you believe that I didn't have any  Mini Construction Truck...