Cailey started learning about factors and multiples last week. At first she was having a lot of trouble remembering the difference between the two. So, I Googled. LOL I saw a lot of really cute ideas for helping kids learn the difference. The only problem? I can’t draw. Not even decent stick people… SO, I made MY versions. 😉
Here are the 2 charts that I made. She keeps them in her Chair Buddy and pulls them out whenever she needs a little refresher.
Then I made little flip books so she could practice her tables, factors and multiples.
Here are some of the links that I came across in my search!
We are a week into studying the middle ages and having a TON of fun with it!!!!
We drew motte and bailey castles, read books, watched videos and now we’ve made our own shields and swords!
I started out by cutting the shield shapes from thin cardboard, like the long, flat boxes that 24 packs of soda come in.
Then I stapled the handles to the back, once again using the same thin cardboard, but from the sides of the boxes.
Next I made the paste! I sort of eyeball the paste when I make it but I use a little flour, Elmer’s Glue (almost 2 bottles) and water. For one child or smaller projects I would make about 1/2.
Then they started layering!
Once the shields were dry (the next day), we glued aluminum foil to the front and back, making sure to cover the handle as well.
After that, they painted them.
For the swords I used cardboard from one of our moving boxes and just cut out the shape.
Then we used paper mache on them as well.
Next came aluminum foil and construction paper.
Finally, they decorated the hilts with glitter glue.
Here is Colin’s finished sword!
They had so much fun making them and have been battling it out ever since! LOL
So, my printer went out… I had to buy a new one. BLECK!!! My old printer was a Kodak and the ink lasted forever and was SO CHEAP. SIGH… When I went to buy a new one they were out of Kodaks. WAH!!!! I bought an HP instead. Now, the quality of the HP is AWESOME but the ink is higher and doesn’t last as long. I say all of that to tell you this: I will be MAKING a lot of homeschooling stuff instead of PRINTING a lot of homeschooling stuff. When we first started homeschooling (7 years ago!!!) that was a normal occurrence. I made TONS of stuff. Looks like we are going back to that and I LOVE IT!! I had forgotten how much fun it was to make my own games and such.
Anyway, here are 2 new math games. Colin is LOVING them. SHEW!!!!!
This is his favorite. He loves rolling the dice and inserting the numbers.
I made different symbol squares so that even Cailey can use the game. It’s so versatile! You can compare the numbers, add them, subtract them, multiply or divide them! 🙂
To store the game pieces I just stapled a paper bag to the “game board”. Zipper bags would probably be better but I am out, of course.
Skip counting by 5s game! I traced Colin’s hands on to construction paper and cut them out. Then I just wrote the numbers on the palms. He’s not as fond of this game, probably because dice are not involved, but he loves that he is playing with HIS hands. LOL
The other day when I posted some sight word / word family activities I also posted some links to other hands on ideas. This was one of them! This is my version of Creative Family Fun ‘s Word Family Sort.
I added a blank circle for those sight words that Colin is learning that don’t fit into a family or ones that he isn’t actually learning all of yet.
I also added a couple of new things to the blog. Over on the right side you will see a new listing, My Pages. Until the title you will find links to my Homeschooling Units and Ideas page and my All Tutorials page. Now you (and I) can find what I have on each topic without having to use the search box.
I bought a bag of foam pieces from the Dollar Tree a few weeks ago. We’ve been having some fun crafting with them, too bad someone threw those crafts away!!! ARGH!!!! Anyway, I was trying to think of some ways to improve Colin’s grasp of numbers higher than 20. So, I dug out those foam pieces and started writing the numbers 0-50 on them.
Then I had him put them in order. Easy peasy!!! Cheap and fun, too!
Then I had an idea of another activity he could do with those pieces! Count out beans!! Now he can see how many the different numbers represent as well as their placement in line.
Not bad for $1!
I have found that there are a lot of things out there for numbers 1-10 and a few for 1-20 but not many for any of the higher numbers. I will be trying to think of some more ideas! Wish me luck! 😉
So sorry for my lack of sewing posts lately. I did manage to cut the pieces for Cailey’s Tinkerbell costume! Step one – complete! LOL I should have a tutorial up by the end of the week.
Then Deanna comes in yesterday and tells me that she would like me to make her a long black skirt to wear to the Halloween party on Sunday. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! LOL AND she wants makeup like this –
Yep… Nothing like the last minute! 😉
Anyway, since I have a lot of sewing to DO but nothing to SHOW, I thought I would do a post about hands on science for homeschooling! FUN! 😉
OH! Legos!!! A great hands on unit for boys especially!! This is from The Homeschool Post.
This is an AWESOME idea for this time of year!!! Basically you just fill your pumpkin with soil, water it every so often and watch the seeds grow! 🙂 This idea comes from Growing in PreK. Although it says Pre K, I think this would be excellent for any elementary age child!
I ❤ the Crafty Classroom!!! This fossil craft would be an AWESOME addition to a fossil or dinosaur study! The page has more hands on idea for fossils. And you should check out all the other themes on the right side bar. AH-MAZ-ING!!!!!!
This is BRILLIANT!! What a great way to show the molecules in the different layers of the atmosphere! A really good visual from Science Matters.
E Is for Explore has a lot of great ideas to show static electricity! And we are quickly approaching the time of year when static electricity will be zapping us on a daily basis….. LOL
I thought this was just brilliant. I would never have thought to use a soggy graham cracker to represent the tectonic plates! Thank you to the Homeschool Den!!!! This page has a lot of other ways to explore plate movements. 😉
Another perfect for fall science experiment!!! This one was put together by Science Sparks with a guest post by Rainy Day Mum.
The Science Behind Who Gets Magical Powers would be great for high school biology. It’s not exactly hands on but it is definitely an attention grabber for those HP fans!!!
If this shows up (FINGERS CROSSED!!!) it will be a video from BBC One that shows how your ear works.
Launch a rocket from a spinning planet with this guide from NASA Space Place.
Water Cycle Wonders from Practical Pages. And while you’re there, check out allllll the other amazing things on this blog!
Another brilliant idea!!! This can be found at Momma Owls Lab.
Here is another one that isn’t actually hands on but definitely an attention grabber. It shows the skeletons of different cartoons!! How cool is that???
Speaking of skeletons, we had an interesting science time yesterday. LOL Cailey was petting Bonnie and asked if a cat has bones in its tail. Instead of just saying yes and moving on, I looked up cat skeletons on Google to show her. Then we dragged out our DK Eyewitness Skeleton book and looked at all the different types. That led to dragging out the starfish as an example of exoskeletons! LOL
Whenever your kids ask a question, don’t just answer it. Help them explore it. See where it leads! You never can tell….. LOL Science is a natural topic for kids. They are always wanting to know the how and the why of everything around them.
We haven’t been doing any “actual” homeschooling since we decided to move. There have just been a thousand things going on around here…. BUT they have still been getting their daily dose of science just by being interested in the things around them. Such as, “why are the leaves turning colors and falling off the trees?” “Why do squirrels collect nuts?” “Why are the buzzards circling over there?”
Sometimes you even get really lucky and can add some history in, too. 😉 “Why do we use pumpkins on Halloween”, can be both a science and a history question!
And don’t forget with Thanksgiving just around the corner that the opportunities to combine the two subjects will continue! Weather, crop growing, and the different animals of the New World just to name a few science items to go along with the history!
And I just had to pause this post to explain how the earth tilts for the different seasons and why there will most likely NOT be any snow in Georgia this winter…. LOL Geography AND science in one question! LOL
I need to get sewing on Cailey’s costume but all I reallllly want to do is take a nap! LOL I am trying to fight an oncoming cold….. WAH!! I do NOT need a cold right before we move!!! AND right before Halloween!! Not to mention that I am still having awful fibro flares. I think they are due to having to get up at 4 am this week to take The Hubby to work. WAH!!!!! BUT when we move he will have more decent hours! YAY!!!!
Stacy Sews and Schools 