This Halloween math activity is a fun and easy way for kids to practice adding combinations of 5 and 10. If your child enjoys pumpkins and ghosts for Halloween, this Halloween math activity might be a perfect way to encourage them to work on some basic math skills this October. We did this activity using 10 dry beans that were painted ... Continue Reading
Fall Leaves Sudoku {free printable}
If your kids are studying leaves for the fall, I've got a fun new resource available to challenge their critical thinking skills: my Fall Leaves Sudoku Puzzles. These free and kid-friendly Sudoku printables are perfect for some fall learning and fun. Note: For more fall printables and activities, see my Fall Activities for ... Continue Reading
Leaf rubbings activity + free printable book
I had tried to interest my kids in a leaf rubbing activity for a while to no avail. Then I put together a cute little booklet and paired it with some special, triangle-shaped crayons, and suddenly they were hooked. Who knew?!? A leaf rubbing activity is a great way to combine science and fine motor skills into one fun little project. I set up ... Continue Reading
Window Writing {101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet}
The next installment in my 101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet Series is window writing. There are several things that make window writing an appealing activity for learning letters. For starters, kids aren't usually allowed to write on windows, so there is an element of feeling like they get to do something "naughty" without any negative ... Continue Reading
Fall art project for kids: Leaf collages
A fun project for fall is to go to a park or other place with lots of trees and collect fall leaves. But then, what to do with the leaves? How about making leaf collages? Inspired by two books, we set out to make a colorful collection of characters using fall leaves as our main material. See how they turned out! Note: For more leaf activities, ... Continue Reading
How leaves get water {science activity for kids}
A few years ago, my kids and I did a fun little activity where we dyed flowers different colors. At that time we marveled at our ability to make a white flower turn colors. During our more recent leaf unit study, I decided to have us revisit the flower dyeing activity, but this time using leaves instead of flowers. Although my kids ... Continue Reading
How and why leaves change color: A chromatography experiment for fall
In the fall, parents and teachers like to show kids how the leaves change colors. In a matter of weeks or sometimes just days, entire trees will turn from bright green to shades of red, orange, yellow, and brown. But have you ever stopped to wonder why the leaves change color? Or how they do it? When we were doing our leaves unit study last ... Continue Reading
Glitter glue letters {101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet}
The next installment in my 101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet Series is making glitter glue letters. This activity combines fine motor skills development with learning to form letters correctly. And because kids seem to be inherently attracted to glitter glue, it's likely to be an easy way to get your child to practice his or her ... Continue Reading
Learning about leaf parts and shapes
As part of our leaves unit, I wanted my kids to become familiar with both leaf parts and leaf shapes. To be honest, I *myself* needed to become familiar with leaf parts and leaf shapes as well. But the joy of homeschooling is that I get to learn right alongside my kids! In this post I'm sharing a bit of what we did to accomplish ... Continue Reading
Fall Leaf Lacing Cards {free printable}
Lacing is a wonderful fine motor activity for young children to engage in. And to keep it fresh, it's a good idea to mix up the lacing cards you provide your children periodically. As we move into fall, I thought it would be fun to create a set of Fall Leaf Lacing Cards so your little ones can work on their manual dexterity while enjoying the ... Continue Reading
