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5 Last-Minute Advent Calendar Ideas

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Counting down the days to Christmas is exciting. An advent calendar helps mark the days and keeps the anticipation building. These calendars can be elaborate or very simple. Here are some simple yet super fun Advent calendar ideas for your busy schedule this year.

Counting on Paper Chains

Looking for some easy Christmas advent calendar ideas for kids? This is the simplest Advent countdown option. Paper chains have a long Christmas tradition. They can be hung on trees, draped over mantles, and taped to the wall. This paper chain gets smaller as Christmas day gets closer. 

  1. Cut 25 strips of colored paper.
  2. Using glue, form the first strip into a circle.
  3. Loop the second paper strip through the first circle and glue.
  4. Continue this until all the papers are used and you have a chain of 25 links.
  5. Each day leading to Christmas, remove one link until they are all gone.
  6. An additional option is to include a Bible verse in each loop to keep your family focused on the reason for the season.

Christmas Advent Calendar Ideas

Getting a treat each day is another way to add to your advent calendar filler ideas collection. There are so many versions of this Advent calendar, however, a very easy and economical one begins with 25 toilet paper rolls.

  1. Collect all the rolls and make sure all white paper is removed.
  2. Arrange the tubes vertically, standing on end.
  3. Choose a shape for your calendar, this could be a tree, circle, or star. Use your imagination.
  4. With a hot glue gun, attach each of the tubes to form your desired shape. Make sure to run glue down the entire side of each tube. This will ensure stability.
  5. Around the edge of the shape, you can paint, cover it with ribbon, or leave it plain.
  6. Pipe glue around the edge of the shape on the bottom side and attach it to a piece of poster board. Trim the poster board around the shape. This gives backing to your calendar.
  7. Fill each tube with a treat, Bible verse, or small toy. 
  8. Glue circles of paper over each opening.
  9. Write numbers 1 through 25 on the paper coverings.
  10. Open one tube per day to find what is inside.

Christmas Advent Tree of Packages

Why not have an Advent tree? You’ll love this fabulous advent calendar gift idea. Using small gift bags or fabric tied in sacks, hang 25 small gift packages on a miniature Christmas tree. Make sure to draw a number on each package. Then open a small gift every day until Christmas. You can have a theme for these packages, such as Legos or candy. You could also include one piece of the nativity each day. Start with Mary and Joseph, and lead up to baby Jesus on Christmas.

Sharing the Story of Christmas

Another fun activity is a Christmas themed storytime. Wrap up 25 books in bright wrapping paper and place them in a basket or under the tree. Each night unwrap and read another story. These can be Christian themed books or a blend of simply fun Christmas books along with Bible classics. It is a wonderful way to mark the days and get in some precious family time during a very busy season.

Where to Find Premade Advent Calendars

Christmas Advent calendars are easy to find in a variety of places. Chocolate filled ones are available in more grocery stores leading up to Christmas. Many small toy companies, including Lego and Crayola, sell calendars that are cardboard boxes with individual doors. Each compartment has a new toy. You can also find wooden calendars in all shapes and sizes that can be filled over and over again on Etsy or Amazon.

Be sure to check out the Names of Jesus Printable Ornaments that are a perfect way to mark each day of Advent or decorate your Advent tree.

DIY Wooden Advent Calendar:

Now, this is NOT a last-minute project, but if you’re looking for a fun way to create some memories and finish with a lasting keepsake, be sure to check out our DIY Wooden Advent Tutorial!

We include step-by-step instructions as well as free printables templates that fit perfectly on small wooden ornaments. Click Here

How do you countdown the days to Christmas?

Pre Writing Activities to Start with Your Toddler

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Writing is a fundamental skill to learning. Toddlers love to scribble and pretend to write. Pre-writing activities for toddlers give the skills and muscle tone they need to write. Writing doesn’t come until later. However, laying the foundation will make learning to write easier. Wondering which activity is part of the prewriting process? Here is not just one, but five, fun pre-writing activities to start with your toddler, today.

Playdough

Playdough is fun and easy to use. Kids love to squish and mould it. Just playing with playdough helps strengthen little hands. It develops fine motor skills and increases muscle tone. Both are very important for writing. Rolling out the playdough into long ropes helps develop pre-writing skills. Then you can make other writing shapes. Make circles, and x’s out of playdough. Roll out a horizontal rope and a vertical rope. Using your finger, trace over the shapes. Use a paint brush or stick to make decorations on each shape. You can use clean stamps to practice going in a line. Just stamp one after another across a flattened piece of playdough.

Painting

Who doesn’t love to paint? It’s fun, colorful, and messy. Toddlers love messes. Moms, not so much. Painting is a wonderful prewriting activity. Making long strokes with a paint brush develops hand eye coordination. If you are looking to avoid the mess, try painting with water. You can paint with water on a driveway, brick, or construction paper. The water will change the surface color, however it is mess free. Make sure to teach your child how ot hold the paintbrush properly. This will help him to learn how to hold a pencil. Paint straight lines, squiggle lines, and loops or circles. Older siblings can join in by practicing letters, spelling words, or shapes.

Sand or Salt Tray

Long before a child can hold a pen, he can use his finger. Drawing with fingers build coordination, fine motor skills, and confidence. Start with a tray covered with sand and salt. Make the sand deep enough to move with your finger. Have the child experiment with moving the sand with just one finger at a time. Practice lines, squiggles, and circles. Once the child is ready, give him a card with a shape, letter, or number to copy into the sand.

Transferring

A classic Montessori task, transferring is actually an important pre-writing activity. Using tongs or tweezers children transfer objects from one bowl to another. This teaches how to follow a line. It also develops fine motor skills and coordination. Pom poms, beans, marbles, seeds, or acorns are perfect for transferring practice. Really anything can be used. Raid your pantry and get transferring.

Stickers

Stickers, they are one of the great joys of childhood. Stickers are perfect for the pre-writing stage. Moving stickers from the sheet to your page, is an important skill to develop. Once children master putting stickers onto paper, their clothes, or themselves, you can do more complicated activities. Draw a horizontal line and have the child place stickers along the line. You can later progress to shapes and letters. Making lines out of stickers is fun and forgiving. So the child practices tracing the line without getting frustrated.

What pre-writing activities do you do with your child?

Ignite a Love for Learning with Homeschool Unit Studies

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The best education is one that allows for personal exploration and inspires lifelong learning. It is never about getting through textbooks and scoring well on test. That is the difference between school and education. To create a love of learning and ignite that fire to want to learn more, at least part of education needs to be child-led.

Chasing your child’s dreams, questions, and passions can sound like a lofty order. How do you plan for that? The best way to have a child-led education, that is also mom friendly, is to stock your homeschool classroom for impromptu lessons. Then you can follow your child where he leads you. Here’s a list to get your started.

Tools

An easy way to inspire learning, and be ready for impromptu, child-led lessons is to have tools that teach. Tools give the child the power to explore. They also make it easy to turn a question into an investigation. Some tools that you should have on hand are:

Quality Supplies

Buying quality supplies can be expensive. However, if you focus on a core of supplies you will use over and over again, it can actually save money and space. Instead of buying thousands of cheap markers that dry out easily. Purchase higher end primary color set and teach children how to blend the colors. It’s important to also teach them how to care for the supplies. Quality supplies will make impromptu lessons more enjoyable and successful. Some suggested items include:

Guidebooks Library

Before there was Siri and Alexa, there were books. Finding answers in books is still a necessary skill. Guidebooks empower children to find their own answers. They also never need charging and are naturally child proof. Keeping a collection of guide books is like an instant impromptu lesson arsenal. Here’s some suggestions to build your own library:

  • Field guides (birds, flowers, shells, mammals, lizards, etc.)
  • How to books
  • Visual dictionaries
  • Encyclopedias
  • Anatomy books
  • Foraging/weed guides
  • Survival skills books
  • Dictionary and thesaurus (including other languages)

Homeschool Unit Studies

All of these tools also make it easy to build inspiring unit study curriculum. Sometimes, though, coming up with a topic-based lesson on the fly isn’t possible. That is why using premade mini-unit studies can be a wonderful way to have structured child-led learning whenever you want. Here are a few sites that provide homeschool unit studies ready to go. Never be a afraid to raid you library and tool arsenal, and create your own, though.

  • The Homeschool Mom has a collection of ready made unit studies for free for subscribers. You also receive access to new ones each month.
  • Homeschool Helper Online, also, has an extensive list of short unit studies that are free. They are organized by topic, so it is easy to find what you need.
  • Techie Homeschool Mom specializes in open and go unit studies. Everything you need is included, except for suggested additional reading. There are links to videos, articles, and demonstration so your child can simply dive in. No need to search for materials.

How do you incorporate impromptu, child-led learning?

Need some fresh ideas on how to make your own homeschool unit studies? Here are 5 steps on how to create homeschool unit studies the DIY way!

Or, maybe your not convinced that topic-based lessons are right for you? Find out the pros and cons of homeschool unit studies.

Pros & Cons of Homeschool Unit Studies

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If your family is tired of textbook learning, or you have a child who learns best through hands-on projects, unit studies could be your best friend. Unit studies are short or long term curriculum plans that teach most or all of the coursework revolves around the same theme. So, instead of having math, science, history, and language arts as separate subjects, they are all integrated into one subject one a theme, such as horse, the civil war, space, or art history.

Topic-based lessons can be a fascinating way to homeschool. Before beginning them in your homeschool, here are some of the pros and cons of homeschool unit studies.

Free Mushroom Unit Study from The Crafty Classroom

Pros of Unit Studies

Unit studies could be just what your family needs. They are engaging and easily adaptable to various levels. This means the entire family can work together instead of having to teach every child a different program for each subject. Here are some other positive attributes of unit studies.

Passion Led

We are all motivated by our interests. Children learn better and retain more information when they are engaged. The easiest way to engage children is by appealing to their likes. Choose unit studies that your child will love doing. This eliminates the “boredom” of school and makes even the less desirable subject interesting.

Customizable

A unit study is what you make it. It can be on any topic you choose. Even the sky isn’t the limit. Traditional curriculum follows a set pattern. There are only so many different textbooks available. Most are not built around specialized topics. A unit study can also be customized to your family’s schedule and make-up. The same unit study could be used for one student, or adapted to be used with five at different levels.

At Student’s Pace

A homeschool unit study moves at the pace of the student. Unlike traditional lesson plans that tell a student what to do each day. Homeschool unit studies give the student a goal and resources to explore at his own pace. Siblings can explore the same subject matter according to their ability. The point is not to get everything completed, but to master the topic at hand.

Endless Possibilities

The greatest pro for unit studies is the endless possibilities. Anything can become a unit study. They can include field trips, projects, blogs, experiments, and volunteer work. Unit study-based homeschool curriculum is never limited to just books. There is no wrong way to do a unit study and the same topic can be explored many times from different angles.

Cons of Unit Studies

While unit studies have so much to offer, they aren’t for everyone. There are drawbacks to this kind of homeschooling. Before delving into the world of unit studies, consider the following cons.

Can Be Time Consuming

Putting together homeschool unit studies are a good deal of work. It requires much more of an investment than just using a textbook program. You will need to plan out every aspect of the unit study, find resources, create or find projects, and decide what your ultimate goal is. There are pre-made unit study available. These will save time, however, you will still have to gather the resources. Unit studies are doable for most homeschool families. Just make sure to evaluate how much time you have to invest before beginning.

Need to Stay Organized

Tackling a unit study requires organization. You will need to keep on top of what books and resources are needed when. Make sure to allow time for checking out books, ordering supplies, and delivery. Also, it will take a little more attention to stay on top of what students are doing.

Watch the Expenses

Don’t fall down the rabbit hole! Unit studies can easily get very expensive. Be conscious of costs when planning projects, tools, resources, and books. There is so much out there to explore, and so many ways to do it. Have a budget and stick to it. On the topic of getting carried away, it is easy to over-plan and want to do more than is humanly possible to complete. The best unit studies homeschool curriculum does not have to be expensive or elaborate, but it is easy to get carried away.

Non-traditional

Homeschool unit studies are not like traditional schools. There are no daily lesson plans. Assigning grades is not like marking paper tests or quizzes. They are very open-ended and free form. If you like structure and a more traditional school approach, you may not enjoy unit studies. However, unit study homeschool curriculum can be what you make them, just decide how flexible you are willing to be.

Do you have any pros or cons to add?

Now that you are aware of the pros and cons of homeschool unit studies, here’s HOW to create a unit study that’s fantastic and fits your family perfectly!

Or, if you are looking for great examples of fabulous unit studies, grab my favorite free unit studies right here:

How to Create Fantastic Homeschool Unit Studies

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Homeschool unit studies are a wonderful way to homeschool, but where do you begin? How do you build a unit study? It is easier than you think. Here is a simple step by step guide for building your next homeschool unit study.

Choose a Unit Study Topic

What is the focus of your unit study homeschool curriculum? This can be as broad or narrow as you like. Just remember that broad studies can be like runaway trains. A single idea leads to five more and before you know it, you have enough ideas to fill an entire school career. The best unit studies are targeted on what you want most to learn about a topic. For example, World War II or the Rainforest are topics that could be delved into for years and you still don’t reach the end. Have an idea of where you are heading and the key points you don’t want to miss along the way.

Set a Realistic Goal

While a unit of study can be open ended, it is important to know what your overall goal is. Is it mastery of the material? Do you want to reach a certain point in history? Set you goal so you have something to strive for. This goal can be as unique as your homeschool. It will keep you on track and give you the freedom to explore within the parameters. Plus, you will not have to wonder if you have covered enough.

Find a Spine

A spine is what holds everything together. It doesn’t have to be the longest book but it should cover the breadth of your study. Spines make it easy to follow a progression of study. It is like a jumping off point. You can follow your spine and then delve into individual topics more fully. Ideal spines include reference books, biographies, historical fiction, and original documents.

Add the Meat

Now comes the fun part. Add the individual resources, books, and activities that will expand the study. Remember to cover all your main subjects. How can you incorporate math? How about writing and history? This can be done through targeted textbooks or specific projects that require a certain skill.

Here’s an example. For solar system unit studies, you can create a scale model of the universe, calculate your weight on each planet, figure out how long it would take to reach each planet, and chart the length of each planet’s day and year. That can be your math education. For history, you can read about scientists who discovered the planets and the background of the space program.

Determine an Assessment

Just like you need a goal, an assessment is key to education. An assessment does not mean a test. It can be anything you want. The purpose of the assessment is to make sure the child has learned the material. It also gives the child a chance to demonstrate his accomplishments. Here are some ideas for assessments:

  • Narration of everything learned
  • A journal of the experience
  • A culminating project
  • A performance
  • A newspaper style article
  • A blog
  • A video
  • A comic book

Homeschool Unit Studies

What fantastic homeschool unit studies do you want to build? Try building your own today — you’ll be amazed at what your kids can learn with just a little planning in 4 easy steps. You’ll find some free unit study ideas right here and in the near future so stay tuned!

Free Homeschool Portfolio

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Homschool Planner

Print our Free Student Portfolio!

Homeschool record keeping is an important part of a successful homeschool. There are many systems for record keeping available. One of the most popular and flexible systems is a portfolio. This quick start guide will show you how to easily build a portfolio successfully for each of your children. Here are our favorite tips and tricks for keeping a homeschool portfolio. Our Homeschool Portfolio is a limited time Subscriber Freebie Available Here

What is a Homeschool Portfolio?

A portfolio is a means of record keeping and assessment. It demonstrates what has been learned by a child in a specific area of study or over a particular time period. The portfolio is more than just a collection of grades or transcripts. Portfolios show a student’s ability and experiences. It is a living collection that grows and changes over time

Portfolios eliminate the stress of completing an end of year assessment. Instead of expecting students to demonstrate everything they have learned in a large test, portfolios allow them to show how their learning has progressed. It also allows for creativity and personalization, something that can never happen on a paper and pencil test.

Why are Portfolios Important?

Portfolios are important for many reasons. Some states require families to maintain homeschool portfolios. Other states give the option of creating a portfolio or taking a standardized test. The portfolio is a concise way to show everything that was accomplished over the year. Knowing your state homeschool laws should be the first step in planning a portfolio. Check out Understanding Your Homeschool Requirements by State to learn more about what your state requires.

In addition to state homeschool requirements, there are other reasons to keep portfolios. Some homeschool charter schools require student portfolios. Also, portfolios are a perfect option for high school. Since portfolios are highly personalized, they are a perfect choice for demonstrating high school credit earned. Even if you are not required to keep a portfolio, it is a very useful record keeping system.

What are the Daily Logistics of Maintaining a Portfolio?

The portfolio is a yearly assessment but has to be maintained daily. The single binder portfolio is the most popular, and required by some states. Other options include an accordion file portfolio and digital portfolio. It is important to make daily maintenance simple. Keep one binder for each subject. Also have a binder for additional logs and sheets. (see below) Each day add completed work to the subject binder. Also. record grades, attendance, etc in appropriate logs. Keep all binders in a central location. (Students can help maintain binders, too!). At the end of the year, you can pull what you need from these binders. That will make year-end assessments quick and easy to complete.

What Should Be Included?

Every portfolio is unique. There are as many different styles as families who keep them! Always include whatever is required by your state. You can then get creative with the rest. Remember that less is more! A portfolio is a snapshot of the homeschool year. It should not include EVERYTHING! Include just enough to meet state requirements and demonstrate growth. Here is a sample list of what to include:

  • Colorful Cover Sheet: This should include the title “Homeschool Portfolio” and space to write Student’s Name and School Year
  • Student Profile Sheet: This contains all pertinent information about the student. It will include strengths, weaknesses, course of study, and other personal details.
  • Monthly Tracking Log: The log sheet shows how many days each subject has met. There is a log for each month of the school year. The page is a grid with subjects across top, room for 31 Days on left side, and totals on bottom
  • Weekly Tracking Log: Similar to the monthly tracking log but it breaks the records into weeks. This is set up with subjects on left side, days on top, and totals on right.
  • Quiz & Test Scores: This is a record of all quiz and test grades received for each subject.
  • Field Trips Log: Include where you went, the date, and what was learned.
  • Exemplary Examples of Work: Show off student progress. Include a collection of the best work from the year in various subjects.
  • All State Requirements: Make sure that all requirements are met and included.
  • Physical Education Log: Keep a log of what activities/sports were counted as physical education and time spent on each.
  • Extra Curricular Log: This is a place to record what is done outside the classroom. Include clubs, activities, and performances. Be sure to also note any special awards or recognitions earned.
  • Volunteer Hours Log: Volunteering is real work learning. It is also a requirement for graduation in some states. Record all volunteer activities, dates, and how long was spent on each event.

Subscriber Freebie!!

For a limited time, our Student Portfolio is available to our newsletter subscribers for FREE! All you have to do is claim your free download by confirming your subscriber email address. If you’d like to join our subscriber list, we would LOVE to have you! It’s free to join and all the details are here.

Also…..Dont’ Miss our FREE Homeschool Planning Pack

Simple homeschool planning resources you will actually use!  Less is more when it comes to organizing and planning out your homeschool year.  These resources will help you set goals, keep track of curriculum decisions and orders, and teach your student to keep an independent weekly calendar.

  • Homeschool Goals
  • Homeschool Curriculum Planning
  • Independent Student Calendar

4 Easy and Frugal Homeschool Art Projects

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I don’t know about you, but the homeschool day goes really fast! And, it can be hard fitting in the time-consuming, clean up-consuming subject of art. To help my fellow homeschool moms, I’ve come up with a simple, yet SUPER engaging list of easy and frugal homeschool art projects.

Kids LOVE art — getting messy is fun! And, any creations they concoct can be proudly displayed or shown lovingly to their Grandma on FaceTime.

However, for Moms — crafts can be exhausting! The time suckers and messy materials can be somewhat daunting for our busy days! Yet, we also know our children’s joy and creativity soars with art. It’s an important subject NOT to skip.

That’s why these fast, simple, and frugal art activities are perfect to use as boredom busters for any preschoolers, kindergartners, and elementary school aged kids.

Are you looking for simple items you can purchase to keep your Homeschool Art Supply Closet full?  We’ve compiled our favorite, frugal products and brands to make it easy for you to keep your art cabinet stocked.   All of these products are tried and tested in our own homeschool classroom, and are well loved by the kiddos.  We’ve picked these specific items because of the price and the quality, this is a list you don’t want to miss!  Click Here

On a budget? No problem! Most craft materials can be found at the Dollar tree or on Amazon at a great price (and shipped right to your door!). These art crafts are also wonderful time fillers and distractors for after school, on weekends, playdates, and gift giving!

Popsicle Stick Crafts

The possibilities are endless with popsicle stick crafts but when you’re in a hurry, here are some exciting ideas. Remember, kids have vivid imaginations and giving them materials only will get their creative juices flowing! Grab some glue sticks, washable markers or paint and ask the kids to get creative.

Here are some ideas to use for Popsicle Stick crafts:

  • Build Tic Tac Toe Grids, glue together, and cut out 9 pieces of paper to fit inside boxes. Write ‘X’ and ‘O’s using markers on pieces of paper with different colors.
  • Make a star using 2 triangle shapes. One will be upside down on top of the other. The kids can paint or color them with markers.
  • Create a frame with sticks shaped as a square. The kids can write “family” or any words they wish or paint with favorite colors.

Beads

Beads are wonderful materials to make gorgeous designs, bracelets, necklaces, and much more! These innovative ideas may require a purchase of a bead kit for a low price. Using beads strengthen hand eye coordination, focus, creativity and fine motor skills!

Please note: We wouldn’t recommend attempting beads until your child is about 5 years old or any child who puts things in their mouths.

Pipe Cleaners

Pipe cleaners are one of the most versatile and simple craft materials you can use for tons of kid activity! They come in a variety of colors, they’re inexpensive, and easy to manipulate into any shape!

Here are some ideas to get you started with your creative kid:

  • Make a flower arrangement: draw and color a flower, cut it out, and pull stem through. Put it in a pretty vase or cup and pass it onto a neighbor!
  • Bend and twist 2 favorite colors to make a bracelet or necklace.
  • Cut pipe cleaner in half, add a wonderful array of colorful beads, and twist the end.

Playdough

Playdough is SO easy to make! Here is a step-by-step recipe and tutorial.  Just combine 2 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons of oil, ½ cup salt, and 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar. Then, start adding 1 to 1 ½ cups of boiling water in increments to determine best consistency. Food coloring is also an option for a variety of colors.

Give each child a ball of dough, and the sky’s the limit! If you see some inactivity, throw some cookie cutters on the table for a little help. You’ll be amazed at what your child can create with his/her imagination!

Now, if you just don’t have the time or prefer commercial play dough, check out this colorful Play dough package.

Finding ways to give your kids creativity time fosters mental growth, stimulates new ideas, and encourages new pathways of thinking and problem-solving! Take time today to give your children these wonderful opportunities to grow and learn exponentially!

Looking for more easy and frugal ideas on homeschool art projects? Check out these crafts, activities, and printables here!

Winter Fine Motor Skills: January Pack

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It always surprises me how cold the weather gets before we are even in the winter season.  For the past few years, here in Southern Oregon we’ve had snow before Thanksgiving even, which has been quite a surprise.  This year, thankfully, we have yet to have a big snowstorm, and this homeschooling mama is A-okay with that!  In fact, I could easily go a few years without missing the snow at all.  My kids think I’m crazy, because of course, they love the snow and all the winter fun in brings.

Anyway, with winter on the horizon, I wanted to be sure to finish our Fine Motor Pack for January.  January’s themes are winter, ice skating, snowmen, snowflakes and cold weather clothing.   And it is FILLED with fun, hands-on activity pages that will have your kiddos begging for more.   

  •     Thematic Tracing Pages
  •     Cut & Paste Sequencing
  •     Thematic Mazes
  •     Dab & Dot Mystery Pictures
  •     Pom-Pom Pages
  •     Popsicle Stick Craftivities
  •     Pattern Block Pictures
  •     Playdough Mats
  •     Pin & Poke Pictures and more!
If you are looking for some great fine motor manipulatives, check out our top picks here!
(Suggested Materials are recommended at the botom of this post)

Here is a peek inside our January Fine Motor Pack:

MAZES: Students solve the mazes and follow the prompts. Each page features thematic mazes alongside a tracing activity or prompt.

POM PICTURES: Students use pom-poms to complete the picture.For added difficulty have students use plastic tweezers to pick up the poms. Alternatively, students can glue poms to make these sheets into a simple craft project.  HINT:  Glitter Poms make for some fun Winter pictures!

TRACING: Students trace the pictures with colored pencils or fine tip markers. Each page features thematic content and prompts students to complete the pictures.

PLAYDOUGH: Students use playdough to complete the prompts.Prompts require students to form and shape the dough to make pictures, solve problems, or complete the scene.

GEOBOARD: Students use rubberbands to create the pictures on a geoboard. Each sheet features a letter of the alphabet alongside a thematic picture.

SNAP CUBE CREATIONS: Students use counting cubes to make thematic pictures These cubes can be snapped together. If you do not have cubes, students can color the squares in the grid to match the picture.

PUZZLE PICTURES: Students use pattern blocks to create thematic pictures. These sheets feature thematic shapes and provide students with easy and more dificult patterns. A full color example is available for easy reference.

DOT & POKE: Students cut apart the halves. Students solve the dot to dot activities.Then, students use a push pin to poke a picture onto colored construction paper. See full instructions below.

CUT & SORT CROWNS: Each crown features a theme alongside a 4-step sequencing pattern. Students cut out the pictures and glue them in the correct order. Students write their name, color the pictures, then staple the sides to make a crown.

DAB & DOT: Students use daubers to dab by number in order to reveal the mystery picture. (Hold at a distance to help students see the pictures).

CUT & PASTE CRAFTIVITY: These crafty projects are perfect for little hands.Students color, glue, and cut to make fun, thematic pictures.Pair with a simple writing prompt or poem for extra learning!

POM PICTURES:  Students use pom-poms to complete the picture.For added difficulty have students use plastic tweezers to pick up the poms. Alternatively, students can glue poms to make these sheets into a simple craft project.

BONUS Calendar:

For a little extra fun, we’ve included a bonus calendar at the back of the pack. We recommend printing this page on cardstock. Students fill out the calendar and glue wiggly eyes on the characters. This is great small motor control to practice squeezing the glue carefully enough to make a single dot.

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

· Pencil, Scissors, Glue

SUGGGESTED MATERIALS:   (HERE ARE OUR TOP PICKS)

· Geoboard & Bands

· Playdough

· Snap Cubes

· Puzzle Blocks

· Push Pin

· Dab & Dot Markers

· Pom-Poms

· 10mm Wiggle Eyes

· Popsicle Sticks

· Page Protectors

What’s Included:

This pack includes 40 pages of hands-on activities and resources you can use to enhance your classroom for an entire month. These resources have specifically been developed to keep the prep work to a minimum, while providing ample opportunity for your students to build their small motor muscles.

How to Use:

The pack is organized into four weeks, and the simplest way to use this resource is to print it out and place into a three ring-binder. However, you might want to place many of the pages in page protectors for reuse. The first six pages of each week are considered non-consumable and could easily be reused through out the years (Geoboard, Mazes, Playdough, Tracing, Cube Creations, Puzzle Pictures). The remaining four pages of each week are considered consumable as they require cutting, gluing, dabbing and poking (Dot & Poke, Cut & Sort, Dab & Dot, Pom Pictures). Many pages are adaptable if you do not have the manipulatives. For example, you can have students color instead of dab, or build.


There are really just TOO many activities to list them all! Be sure to check out the complete set in our TPT Store Here!   Our monthly fine motor packs have been a huge hit, and if you’d like to order other months you can find them in our TPT store here.   We are currently working on February so be sure you are subscribed or follow along for that! 

Fine Motor Skills Printables for December

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Winter is coming!!  Here in Southern Oregon, we have yet to have snowfall this year. Which, is a-okay with me because this homeschool mama has a very steep driveway to maneuver down each winter.  

My children pray for snow every year, because said driveway becomes the best sledding ramp on this side of the river.  Helmet required fast.  

Anyway, with winter on the horizon, I wanted to be sure to release an update for our December Fine Motor Activity Pack.   This pack originally contained 24 printable activities, and I’ve doubled it to 48!   And it is FILLED with fun, hands-on activity pages that will have your kiddos begging for more.   

  •     Thematic Tracing Pages
  •     Cut & Paste Sequencing
  •     Thematic Mazes
  •     Dab & Dot Mystery Pictures
  •     Pom-Pom Pages
  •     Popsicle Stick Craftivities
  •     Pattern Block Pictures
  •     Playdough Mats
  •     Pin & Poke Pictures and more!
If you are looking for some great fine motor manipulatives, check out our top picks here!
(Suggested Materials are recommended at the botom of this post)

Here is a peek inside our December Fine Motor Pack:

MAZES: Students solve the mazes and follow the prompts. Each page features thematic mazes alongside a tracing activity or prompt.

POM PICTURES: Students use pom-poms to complete the picture.For added difficulty have students use plastic tweezers to pick up the poms. Alternatively, students can glue poms to make these sheets into a simple craft project.

TRACING: Students trace the pictures with colored pencils or fine tip markers. Each page features thematic content and prompts students to complete the pictures.

PLAYDOUGH: Students use playdough to complete the prompts.Prompts require students to form and shape the dough to make pictures, solve problems, or complete the scene.

GEOBOARD: Students use rubberbands to create the pictures on a geoboard. Each sheet features a letter of the alphabet alongside a thematic picture.

SNAP CUBE CREATIONS: Students use counting cubes to make thematic pictures These cubes can be snapped together. If you do not have cubes, students can color the squares in the grid to match the picture.

PUZZLE PICTURES: Students use puzzle blocks to create thematic pictures. These sheets feature thematic shapes and provide students with easy and more dificult patterns. A full color example is available for easy reference.

DOT & POKE: Students cut apart the halves. Students solve the dot to dot activities.Then, students use a push pin to poke a picture onto colored construction paper. See full instructions below.

CUT & SORT CROWNS: Each crown features a theme alongside a 4-step sequencing pattern. Students cut out the pictures and glue them in the correct order. Students write their name, color the pictures, then staple the sides to make a crown.

DAB & DOT: Students use daubers to dab by number in order to reveal the mystery picture. (Hold at a distance to help students see the pictures).

CUT & PASTE CRAFTIVITY: These crafty projects are perfect for little hands.Students color, glue, and cut to make fun, thematic pictures.Pair with a simple writing prompt or poem for extra learning!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fine-Motor-Skills-December-Activity-Pack-4136717POM PICTURES:  Students use pom-poms to complete the picture.For added difficulty have students use plastic tweezers to pick up the poms. Alternatively, students can glue poms to make these sheets into a simple craft project.

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

· Pencil, Scissors, Glue

SUGGGESTED MATERIALS:   (HERE ARE OUR TOP PICKS)

· Geoboard & Bands

· Playdough

· Snap Cubes

· Puzzle Blocks

· Push Pin

· Dab & Dot Markers

· Pom-Poms

· 10mm Wiggle Eyes

· Popsicle Sticks

· Page Protectors

What’s Included:

This pack includes 40 pages of hands-on activities and resources you can use to enhance your classroom for an entire month. These resources have specifically been developed to keep the prep work to a minimum, while providing ample opportunity for your students to build their small motor muscles.

How to Use:

The pack is organized into four weeks, and the simplest way to use this resource is to print it out and place into a three ring-binder. However, you might want to place many of the pages in page protectors for reuse. The first six pages of each week are considered non-consumable and could easily be reused through out the years (Geoboard, Mazes, Playdough, Tracing, Cube Creations, Puzzle Pictures). The remaining four pages of each week are considered consumable as they require cutting, gluing, dabbing and poking (Dot & Poke, Cut & Sort, Dab & Dot, Pom Pictures). Many pages are adaptable if you do not have the manipulatives. For example, you can have students color instead of dab, or build.

BONUS Calendar:

For a little extra fun, we’ve included a bonus calendar at the back of the pack. We recommend printing this page on cardstock. Students fill out the calendar and glue wiggly eyes on the characters. This is great small motor control to practice squeezing the glue carefully enough to make a single dot.


There are really just TOO many activities to list them all! Be sure to check out the complete set in our TPT Store Here!   Our monthly fine motor packs have been a huge hit, and if you’d like to order other months you can find them in our TPT store here.   We are currently working on January so be sure you are subscribed or follow along for that! 

Bible ABC Mazes

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Sometimes you just need to add a little FUN to your Bible lessons!  Our Bible ABC Letter of the Week program is filled with fun, hands-on activities, games, and teaching resources.  Last week, we added some fun (lowercase) Bible ABC Dab and Dot Worksheets.  They were an instant hit, so if you missed that announcement, be sure to go back and check it out.

Well, today, we’ve created another fun pack of Bible ABC Dot Mazes that would compliment this (or any other letter of the week) program that you are using. 

If you’re not familiar with Dab and Dot mazes, they are basically mazes in which the student dabs to follow a specific number, or in this case letter (horizontally or vertically) until they reach the end of the maze.

They are tons of fun for children of all ages and work wonderfully as hand-on learning tools in your classroom.   This particular set focuses on the uppercase alphabet.  

Each worksheet features a beginning letter Bible topic (A for Angel, B for Bible, C for Cross…..etc.) and the goal to to reach the end as quickly (and as accurately) as possible.

Students might even add a little extra challenge by solving the maze with a pattern of dots along the way.  You can expand this set by using the “un-dabbed” letters as review.  For example call out, “Dab letter M with blue!” 

This set includes the entire uppercase alphabet, so your kiddos are sure to have pleny of learning fun!  You can purchase this set in our TPT store here.

Bible ABC Dab & Dot Worksheets

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One of our best-selling curriculum notebooks is our Letter of the Week Bible ABC program.  If you haven’t yet had a chance to check it out, you’ll definitely want to head over to our eStore to view the course overview and sample pages.

One of the most common questions I get is, “When will a Kindergarten Bible ABC Program be available?”  While I do have a few planning pages in the work, it is still a long-term goal to add subsequent grade levels and (gasp) languages even.  (“Do you have this in Spanish?” is probably the next popular question.)

Anyway, my boys have been all about Dab&Dot lately with these Free Sight Word Dab and Dot worksheets I made for First Grade Mom and I got to thinking it might be fun to make some more Dab and Dot Worksheets with a Bible theme:

I’m super excited at how they turned out.  I chose to feature the lowercase alphabet alongside a beginning letter Bible picture for children to dab.  There are also letter bubbles for children to seek and dab their letter for each worksheet.

I would even encourage students to use different color daubers to complete their pictures if you have them.

This is the set of daubers we have at our house, they are nice because the ink doesn’t splatter everywhere.  They have a flat cap so you can store them upside down, and they take a little bit of priming before use (which I don’t mind at all, I prefer priming to splattering/dripping ink)

With 26 different letters, these would make a colorful display in your homeschool or classroom setting.  Give each child a letter or two, then back them with construction paper and hand them on the bulletin board. Or, print up the letters in your child’s name and have them create a colorful custom art project.  Better yet,  print up a complete set for each child in your Sunday School classroom and send them home with their very own Bible ABC book.

 

Read more and purchase this pack from our TPT store here.

There are lots of possibilities with this set, especially when you pair it up with our Bible ABC Curriculum Notebook.

We’d love to see your creations!  Don’t forget to TAG us on INSTAGRAM!!!

 

Looking for more Bible ABC Fun?

Try our Letter of the Week Bible ABC Curriculum Notebook Today!!

 

 

 

 

September Fine Motor Activity Pack

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Fine motor skills are important for children to build during the early years. Provide your kiddos with lots of hands-on activities, games, and manipulatives they can use to work those small motor muscles.  These small motor movements will help children with their coordination as well as develop the necessary strength and control they will need for handwriting down the road.

Recently, I’ve begun to create a set of Fine Motor Activity Books for students.  Each pack is filled with thematic activities and workbook pages that will encourage fine motor movements throughout the month.  Here is a little peek inside our new Fine Motor Activity pack for September:

Thematic Mazes and Worksheet prompts:

Tracing pages and Geoboard pictures to make:

Thematic Play dough activity mats:

Pin & Poke Pictures:

Dab & Dot Mystery Pictures and more!

 

September Fine Motor Activity Book

Free Abraham Preschool Bible Printables

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Learning about the life of Abraham provides many opportunities to teach your students important life lessons.  Today, I have a small collection of printables you can use to remind students that God always keeps his promises and that he will provide for all of our needs.

 

Included in this set is a full-color printable Bible Verse Chart.  These are fantastic for hanging in the classroom or bringing out at circle time for review.  Also, if you adjust your printer settings to fit 8 on a page, these make perfect take-home Bible verse cards.  Super handy for children’s ministry or outreach opportunities.

There is also a coordinating Bible Verse Tracing Page available for Genesis 22:14 ESV.  Students can trace “The Lord will Provide,” over and over if you place this sheet inside a page protector for reuse.  This sheet includes reminders of stroke order.

I’ve also added an adorable Bible Verse Crown Craft for your youngest students.  Children color the stars then cut and paste them to their Bible Crown.  My Bible Verse crowns are super simple to assemble, you cut out the strips and then staple on the sides to fit the students head. The full scripture reference is on the back.

 

You can print all of these Abraham Bible Printables FREE

on our sister site ChristianPreschoolPrintables.com

By the way, if you are looking for Bible Crowns, I have a complete set of ABC Bible Verse Crowns available in my TPT store.  These are super cute and work perfectly with a Letter of the Week Program!

Creation Activity Pack

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Learning about the Days of Creation is always a fun lesson for your homeschool or Sunday School classroom.  Today, we’ve released a special K-5 Activity Pack that includes TONS of fun for teaching the Days of Creation to your students.

This Creation Activity Pack is the perfect accompaniment to your Creation Bible lessons! K-5 students will find lots of fun hands-on activities, games, scripture tools, copywork pages, mazes, worksheets, activity pages, craft projects and more! Includes fun take-home resources for students to memorize the seven days of creation.  32pgs

 

This Days of Creation Bible Activity Pack is just one of many No-Prep, Holiday Bible Activity Packs available in our store.  These are some of our best-selling titles for good reason! Each pack includes games, crafts, activities, worksheets, scripture copywork, take-home activities and more for multiple age levels.  We get feedback from parents and teachers who continue to use these packs year after year with their thematic units.

 

Anyway, here is a peek inside our New Days of Creation Pack,

We’ve packed it full with tons of hands-on and interactive activities:

Days of Creation Worksheets: Creation Crossword Puzzle, Word Search and Word Scramble

Days of Creation Wheel

Students cut out and assemble to create their own story retelling set.

Creation BUMP!

Bump is a favorite game with my children and this version helps students memorize what God made on each of the days of creation.

Creation Puzzles and Mazes

Fun, thematic Dot2Dot and maze pages you can use when learning about the days of creation.

Days of Creation Necklace

Print one set each to make a necklace for students to take home.

Creation Bible Verse Copywork (KJV)

Each page features a different day in creation along with a key scripture references.  These would be fun to use each day to build a book at the end of your unit.

A Cursive set is also available for older students, also KJV.

The Creation Game!

A fun, multi-player game you can use during your Creation Bible lessons.  Collect each day of creation to WIN!!

All God’s Creatures Matching Worksheets

Each page offers a fun way to get your younger students involved in learning the days of creation.

God Made Me Bible Crown

Our Bible Crowns are LOVED by children everywhere, and we’ve added a fun God Made Me Bible Crown to this set. What a fun way for students to take home this important message.

Days of Creation Song

A simple opening song for circle time or for easily memorizing the days of creation.

This would pair nicely with holding up visual cues or by using the Creation bracelets for reference.

Days of Creation Bracelets

A simple way for students to retell and memorize what God made on each day of creation.

 

Creation Geo Art for Older Students

Days of Creation Bible Bookmarks

As you can see we’ve included so many fun games, activity pages,  art projects, copywork, puzzles and more!

It’s ALWAYS a good time to learn about the Days of Creation, but this set pairs especially well with an Earth Day unit as well.

The Creation Activity Pack

$5.00

 

 

 

Free Homeschool Planner

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I know you are likely winding down from your 2017 homeschool year, and I am right there with you!  We are counting down the days till summer vacation over here, and it can’t come quick enough!  With the wrapping up of another successful homeschool year, it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on what worked and what didn’t so that we can plan for the upcoming year ahead of us.
One task I like to complete at the end of the school year is to start planning for the next year.  I know that might not be how everyone likes to do it, but I like to have a plan in mind BEFORE the garage sales and homeschool books fairs start to pop up.  Otherwise, I turn into a homeschool curriculum junkie and I just buy it all, whether I need it or not.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Shout Out to all my #Homeschool Buddies: SHARE your best curriculum score! @CraftyClasroom” quote=”Shout Out to all my #Homeschool Buddies: SHARE your best curriculum score!” theme=”style3″]
My favorite way to plan my year is with my Simple Homeschool Planning Pack, which I’ve been using for years.  This year I’ve updated it with a couple more pages, and a whole lot of Rainbow….because this homeschool mama likes color!  It really only takes 3 or 4 pages and I’ve got everything planned out for my kiddos each year.   I’ve had so many people ask how I can get away with just a few homeschool planning pages so I thought I’d preview my planning method below:

Homeschool Goals:  Sometime before you start your curriculum planning we suggest sitting down and writing out your goals for each student.  This doesn’t have to be detailed, it can be as simple as, “Get through 5th-grade math.”  However, there may be subjects that you have more detailed answers for, “Develop empathy and self-control.”  Doing this for each student is a great way to customize their education.

Homeschool Curriculum:  Print one page for each student and use this sheet to keep track of what products, resources, and classes you’ll be using during the year to cover each subject.  Take this sheet with you to homeschool conventions and curriculum sales so you can always update and keep organized.

Homeschool Lesson Planner:  Sometimes curriculum doesn’t come with a weekly schedule, or it will be a five-day schedule and you want to homeschool over four days instead.  In this case, the simplest way to organize your lesson plans is to count the number of lessons or the number of pages in the curriculum.  Then divide that number by the number of weeks you plan to homeschool.  This will give you the number of pages you need to cover each week.  You can then further divide that number by the number of days you plan to homeschool each week. You now have weekly and daily goals for this subject.

Homeschool Calendar:  This sheet is intended to be an independent planner for your students.  Print and add in your daily subjects and a photo of your student.  Laminate or store in a page protector then provide your student with a dry erase marker to keep track of their daily tasks. Encourage students to mark off the boxes as they complete each task.  The page comes with a blank version as well so you can write in your own topics.

Annual Overview Calendar: If you have field trips or monthly themes you want to plan, then this calendar is for you!  Featuring a quick at-a-glance layout, this sheet is available with two different formats; the first starting in January and the second starting in September.  Use this calendar to jot down quick notes for annual requirements, testing or even

 

Print our Free Homeschool Planning Pack Here

Still looking for Homeschool Curriculum?

Shop our eStore Here

Free Earth Day Printables: Necklace Craft for Kids

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Earth Day is April 22nd, and if you are looking for some fun, low-prep educational activities for your students you’ve come to the right place!  At The Crafty Classroom we believe that learning should be fun, and there is nothing more fun then making something you actually wear and take home with you!

Today, we’re featuring a fun and free Earth Day Necklace craft available at PreschoolMom.com.  This craftivity couldn’t be easier to implement in your classroom. You’ll have the option to print in color or black and white.  This is a bonus for students who don’t like color (or become frustrated with coloring smaller images).

You will need scissors, string, a hole puncher, and coloring materials.

Students color and cut out the medallions.  Help children use the hole puncher to punch holes over the greyed out circles on each medallion.  Thread the yarn through the holes to assemble the necklace and tie in the back.

By the end of this crativity, with the cutting, hole punching and threading, your students will have worked on many fine motor skills all while learning and having fun!

This is a great way to send children home with their Earth Day message, just be sure to remind them to recycle their necklaces when they are done wearing them!

Find more Free Earth Day Printables on PreschoolMom.com

Find another great selection of Activities on KindergartenMom.com

Homeschool Dollar Deals

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Do you have a student that is learning to read?  Finding the best reading resources online can be hard.  While I love Pinterest and the ability to search out FREE products, sometimes it’s helpful just to pick up a small pack of worksheets to target a specific skill.

That is one of the reasons why we are offering small worksheet packs on EdZone.  These packs are pieced out from our most popular curriculum and can be used as a stand-alone resource to help your student reach a specific goal.

Best of all, these resources are priced much lower than a complete curriculum.  In fact, they are so low that we’ve created a Dollar Deals section on EdZone to make it easy for you to look through all of the products.  To prevent duplicate purchases, if a product is included in a larger curriculum it will be noted in the product description.

Shop Dollar Deals Here

Shop all EdZone Products Here

 

 

 

 

Valentine’s Day Bible Coloring Pages

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Valentine’s Day is less than a month away and we’ve got a special LOVE Coloring book for kids!  This Bible-based coloring book depicts character qualities of LOVE as outlined in 1 Corinthians 13:4.  Students can color and take home their very own book of love!  Print multiple pages/sheet to make smaller coloring books.

This set is a special Subscriber Freebie!  It’s completely free to subscribe and you’ll join over 100,000 homeschooling and children’s ministry workers with your subscription.

Click Here to Subscribe

In case you missed it last week….. we released a full-color version of this set to be printed as a minibook!

Valentine’s Day Bible Minibook

Looking for more Valentine’s Day Bible Fun!?

Check out our Valentine’s Day Bible Activity Pack