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Valerie Mcclintick




A Year of Free and Fascinating Unit Studies

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Unit studies provide flexibility and an alternative to traditional textbook learning. They often save time by combining all the subjects into a single study. However, putting one together can be a tremendous amount of work. That’s why we are so excited to share a year of free homeschool unit studies with you.

Some Helpful Advice before You Begin

Each of these studies will take your family on a different adventure. Some are more math intensive, while others focus on literature. However, every study is multi-disciplined. These are perfect for a short diversion or a year’s worth of school. You can choose to spend just two weeks in a particular topic, or stretch it longer and dive really deep. If using this style of schooling, be sure to track which subjects you have touched on and how long you spent on each topic/project. This will make end of year record keeping seamless, and ensure that you are covering all your bases as far as core subject.

A Year of Free Homeschool Unit Studies for Your Family

January

Set a fine table and polish your manners, it’s time for tea with the How to Plan a Tea Party Unit Study

Travel the galaxy and explore the Milky Way with the Solar System Unit Study.

Snow day doesn’t mean an end to learning fun, dig deep with the Science of Snow Unit Study.

February

Learn about our neighbors to the north with the Canada Unit Study for Elementary Students.

Dig up treasure and excitement in the Ultimate Treasure Island Unit Study.

Game on, learn how to build your own video games with the Introduction to Game Programing Lite Unit Study.

March

Investigate the fascinating life of famed scientist, Mme. Curie with the Marie Curie Unit Study.

Take a step back in time with the collection of 36 We Were There Unit Studies.

Visit the Emerald Island and walk through history with the Learning about Ireland Unit Study.

April

Get ready for gardening season, and learn about those mighty, underground workers–worms–with the Composting and Worms Unit Study.

You will be walking on sunshine with the Cloud Unit Study.

Cook up some delicious chemistry lessons with the Julia Child Unit Study.

May

Cultivate a love of learning with this Seed to Plant Unit Study.

Experience the comfort and peace of motherhood through the Mary Cassatt Unit Study.

Gear up for an amazing summer break with Plan a Simple Summer Unit Study.

June

Discover adventure with the Swiss Family Robinson Unit Study.

Dance through June with a Edgar Degas Unit Study and Activities

Learn about the genius behind Matilda with the Roald Dahl Unit Study.

July

Stitch up some patriotic learning with The Betsy Ross Unit Study.

Lights, camera, action…you are the star of the show with the 5 Steps to Creating a Movie Unit Study.

Travel the universe and swing on a star with the Stars Unit Study.

August

Hit the open road and learn on the go with the Road Trip Unit Study

Make a joyful noise with the Louis Armstrong Unit Study..

Stomp and roar through the end of summer with the Dinosaur Unit Study.

September

Giddy up, and ride ‘em cowboys, the Jesse James Unit Study will have your kids hooping and hollering.

Get in touch with nature and take an adventure with the Sign of the Beaver Unit Study.

Go high tech and create an animated video with the VanGogh Unit Study.

October

Find your way through the field with the Fascinating Corn Maze Unit Study.

Bring in the harvest and learn about how farmers help our families in the Harvest Unit Study.

Your middle schoolers will yapping for joy with the Dog Unit Study, woof!

November

Remember and give thanks for those serving in the armed forces with the Veterans Day Unit Study.

Do some good works while learning with the Homeschool Service Unit Study.

Sample some tasty treats and alphabet books in the Pacific Northwest Unit Study.

December

Celebrate Christmas in style, that’s 1940’s style with the Have a Vintage 1940’s Christmas Unit Study.

Take a trip up to the great country of Canada with Christmas in Canada Unit Study.

Discover hidden pictures and create your own with the Op Art and Kinetic Art Unit Study.

Need more homeschool unit study ideas? Try these topic based studies for more hands on learning!


Kindergarten Writing Prompts

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Does your child needs extra practice with their writing skills? Or, maybe you’ve picked up on a few clues on their eagerness to write and you want them to develop a love for writing. For each month of the year, we’re creating interactive and highly engaging Kindergarten writing prompts to encourage handwriting with your students. If you desire to build strong, creative students, you’ll love this monthly growing bundle with daily writing prompts!

What are Kindergarten Writing Prompts? They are simply sentence starters to give your child a healthy boost to get their creative writing juices flowing. Have they ever stared at a blank page or seemed unsure where to start? We are simply skipping this stressful step with our fun and lively writing prompts. It not only gives them innovative ideas to begin, they gain more confidence in their early writing career.

Kindergarten Writing Prompts for September

Let’s begin with the fresh, new school year month of September. September is a perfect time for giving your child the gift of learning how to write. notice a few handy features in these thematic sets. You’ll be thrilled about these low prep pages designed for beginning writers and busy schedules.

 These daily writing exercises are easy to implement and require no preparation. Students simply copy the writing prompt onto the writing lines, then use words from an included word bank to finish up their response. Teachers love the independence it brings and kids love the extra guidance.

October Writing with Story Starters

Daily writing activities will strengthen your child’s writing skills and fine motor skills. With our October Kindergarten writing prompts, you’ll get a thematic set of ideas to get the kids excited about the fun events during the fall season. With each daily writing prompt, your students will discover their own unique ideas. And, their personalities will shine as they show off their writing samples. Plus, the simple word banks will encourage productivity in an independent way.

October sneaks in a fun fall theme including a Halloween Party, Spiders, Bats, Pumpkins and more!! Plus, teachers and homeschoolers everywhere can rejoice hearing that they have all the necessary materials at home (composition notebook, pencils, scissors, glue stick, crayons) to begin today!

November Daily Writing Prompts

As your child’s writing practice continues to soar, you may notice these handwriting exercises turn into opinion writing prompts. Your child will want to express themselves more and their confidence is rising. This may be the perfect time to motivate your child to add a few more words or sentences.

Plus, our November guided writing prompts continue to grow right along with your child as their skill sets surge. November promises to build your student’s knowledge with writing a list, taking a poll, opinion writing, letter and comparison writing. Plus, your student will also practice writing with recipes, acrostic poetry, comparison writing, and the list goes on!

December Daily Writing Prompts

For December, our low prep writing prompts for kindergarten continue to include 20 special activity pages. However, this month’s writing variety pack holds creative fiction, poetry, expository, reports, and more! As promised, with each month you’ll find skill-building writing exercises.

And, with each month’s writing pack, you’ll also find that each Picture Writing Prompt cut out on thick lines. Then, they’ll paste their precious work into a writer’s notebook. A spiral notebook works best for gluing each prompt per page.

I’ll give you a little hint at some festive writing themes for December! You’ll find winter weather, snowman, ugly sweaters, gingerbread, and of course, Christmas! And, don’t forget – these writing prompt notebooks are wonderful as keepsakes. Or, try them as a writer’s portfolio to show growth throughout the year.

January Writing Prompt Exercises

January represents new beginnings, fresh starts, and new writing skill sets! This month’s writing themes include snowmen, New Year’s Eve, Penguins, Martin Luther King and more! Plus, they may just learn about a new creature in the arctic!

This month’s writing exercises continues to build upon the past few months learning skills. Your student will gain knowledge on how to set goals and how to write life cycles. Plus, they’ll learn how to draw, and even dabble in adjective and nouns. Not only will their writing fine motor skills increase, they are also gaining so much more! They are learning new terms and concepts in a simple and engaging, yet effective method of teaching.

If you love these wonderful writing resources, you’ll love our budget friendly 200+ interactive guided writing prompts! Pick up our year-long bundle today!

A Year's Worth of Free Bible Verses for Kids

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Memorization is important. It is how we master facts and refine skills. Bible verses are a perfect way to exercise your family’s brains and hide God’s truths in their hearts. Memorizing just one verse per week will have lasting impacts in your homeschool. These are wonderful bible verses for kids that will shape their character and deepen their faith. When hard times come, for the rest of their life, your child will be able to recall these words of comfort and instruction. Are you up for the challenge? Here are 52 bible verses to memorize in your homeschool for every week of 2020.

Character of God

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.  James 1:17

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:24

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Numbers 23:19

As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. Psalm 18:30

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. Psalm 116:5

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23

For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God? 2 Samuel 22:32

Moral Character for Kids

And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant. Genesis 33:5

Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 18:10

Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they [shall be] an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. Proverbs 1:8-9

And not only [so], but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Romans 5:3-5

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 1 John 4:8

A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. Matthew 12:35

Beatitudes

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Matthew 5:7

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Matthew 5:9

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Matthew 5:11

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew 5:12

10 Commandments

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I [am] the LORD. Leviticus 22:31

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.  Matthew 5:17-22

And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. Exodus 34:28

And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, [even] ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. Deuteronomy 4:13

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 1 John 2:3-6

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth Exodus 20:4

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me Exodus 20:5

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Exodus 20:6

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:7

Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates  Exodus 20:8-9

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Exodus 20:12

 Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Exodus 20:13-15

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Exodus 20:16

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour’s. Exodus 20:17

Love of God 

And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. 1 John 4:18-19

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. 1 Corinthians 13:13

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Jeremiah 31:3

But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. Psalm 86:15

Love of Neighbor

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  John 12:12-13

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 1 John 4:7

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Luke 6:35

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrew 13:2

With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Ephesians 4:2

Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

Looking for more ways to hide God’s Word in your children’s hearts? Check out these bible verses at Bible Memory 4 Kids: Ten Commandments

Christmas Cards From the Kids!

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Finding Christmas Cards that your kids can make can be difficult. Today, we’ve created a set of holiday cards that will help your little ones add a personalized touch this Christmas. This set includes Christmas Cards, as well as Thank You cards each with a holiday theme. Each card prints on a single sheet of paper and can be folded into shape.

Free Printable Thank You Cards

When children are younger, it can be hard to find ways for them to write their own Thank You cards. For reluctant writers, even the thought of filling in the blank page can be daunting. We’ve created a free printable Thank You Card Word Bank that will provide your kiddos with a list of common words they might use when writing a thank you card.

Thank You Cards From Kids

Each card can be folded into shape by following the guidelines. Inside each card, you’ll find that there are helpful writing lines to help your students keep their writing tidy. Students can use the word bank to craft their thank you message.

Thank You Card Word Bank

This printable set includes 8 different cards, some for Christmas cards and some for Thank you cards. There are adorable characters like Santa, Reindeer, Christmas Tress, Penguins, Snowmen, Gingerbread Men, and more!

You might pair this activity up with some Christmas erasers for some extra holiday fun. Your students will LOVE to write their holiday cards with fun Christmas characters as erasers! We purchased a set that includes Christmas Trees, Stockings, Snowmen, Gingerbread Men, and more.

Printable Christmas Cards for Kids

Print one or all of these Christmas cards for your kids! Print on cardstock if you want a sturdier card.

PRINT

Winter Field Trip Ideas to Beat the Cold Weather Blues

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It’s cold and snowy outside. The kids are restless and spring is months away. Winter can make homeschool difficult. You feel trapped. (Possibly going crazy) Homeschool cold-weather blues are common. Don’t let them get you down. Escape your schoolroom and find these winter field trip ideas.

Winter can be the best time to take a field trip. Everyone needs a chance to get out, stretch their legs, and have a change of scenery.  Here are four ideas for homeschool winter field trips.

Aquarium Exploration

Too cold for the beach? Have the ocean come to you!  Aquariums are fun and fascinating for the whole family. You can take a trip around the world in an aquarium. There may be penguins from the antarctic and hippos from the hot jungle. An aquarium trip can be educational and recreational. Take some time to relax and just watch the fish swim. Or dive deep into learning with educational programs and informational brochures. The perfect way to beat those homeschool winter blues.

A Trip to the Mine

What, really? A field trip to the mine is not your typical excursion. However, caves, caverns, and mines stay at a constant temperature. So no matter how cold it is this winter, they will be tolerable. In fact, you will welcome the relative warmth underground. 

Make sure to find a mine or cavern that is set up for tourists to visit. Exploring caves can be dangerous. However, across the country, there are mine, cavern, and caves that are managed and safe. Take a tour with a knowledgeable tour guide. It’s amazing what you can learn in a couple of hours underground!

Field Trip into the Cold

Sometimes, you just need to embrace the cold. Winter provides plenty of opportunities for fun. What says winter more than ice skating? It’s great exercise and so much fun. Ice skating is also a phenomenal brain-building activity. Skating requires balance and cross-body actions, both of which activate the language centers of the brain. Plus you will be building pathways between the two hemispheres of the brain. This is essential for children to develop their math and reading skills, without even trying. So, head to your local skating rink or a thoroughly frozen pond, and exercise your brain and body. Oh, don’t forget about snow tubing, skiing, and snowshoeing. Bundle up and have some fun.

Field Trip to Nowhere

Sometimes the best plan is no plan at all. Take a drive out to the country, or a cruise around town. Drive down streets you have never traveled. Stop at that local shop that you always pass but never go into. Just see where life takes you. We often spend so much time getting places, we miss everything in between. A field trip to nowhere could keep you close to home or take you as far as time allows. 

Practice map reading skills along the way. Everyone has GPS, and that is a great tool. It will always lead you home. But for the field trip, shut off the GPS and find your way the old fashioned way. Unplug from your devices. Turn off the radio. Just enjoy the scenery and time together. You can become a party of explorers. Sometimes, we need to be tourists in our own backyard.

100 Homeschool Field Trips

If you are looking for more inspiration for finding fun homeschool field trips, we’ve put together a master list of 100 homeschool field trip activities you can add to your calendar! These low-budet trips are just right for homeschooling families and your children will love them!

Homeschool Planning Guide

Are you overwhelmed with planning your homeschool field trip? Here is a free homeschool field trip planning guide that will help you keep organized. We’ve organized this planning guide into six sections with tips and local recommendations.

  • Fine Arts
  • Local Government & Business
  • Museums
  • Parks & Recreation
  • Outdoor Activities
  • Group Tours

Click Here for our Free Printable Guide

Christmas Coloring Countdown Printable

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Last Minute Christmas Countdown

Did you forget to do a Pinterest worthy Advent Calendar this year?  Don’t worry, I’m right there with you. I blame Thanksgiving. It was just too close to Christmas this year, wasn’t it?  I mean, I ordered a bunch of tiny treats to put in my wooden advent calendar but I just never got the Christmas Rubbermaid out of the garage in time…and here we are half way through December.

Well, look. Today I have a simple, no-excuses Christmas countdown calendar you can print up for your kiddo.  There are not mini-chocolates or extra things required. Just print it up, make a few cuts, and you’ll have yourself a working countdown calendar that your little one will look forward to for the rest of the month.  And hey…..just tell them they get to color in the first 12 days as a special 12-days of Christmas bonus.

Free Printable Christmas Countdown

Let’s face it….there is just something so FUN about counting down to Christmas Day! Children LOVE to wake up and mark another day off the calendar. You might already have a felt advent calendar, or even a wooden advent calendar, but there is something extra fun and unique about creating your own countdown keepsake.

Simple Christmas Countdown Calendar

I’ve seen quite a few Christmas countdown calendars over the years, and while they are super-cute, sometimes they are just too much work to set up! Especially when Thanksgiving ends up really close to Christmas, there just isn’t enough time to transition from one holiday to the next. Well, this Christmas Countdown Coloring project solves that problem as it couldn’t be simpler.

To set up this countdown calendar, all you need to do is print out the two pages; the cover sheet that includes the numbered windows, and the background sheet that contains the pictures. Use scissors, or an Exacto knife to cut the windows on three sides as shown in the photos, then glue the cover sheet over the sheet with all the pictures.

Each morning, when you child wakes up, have them open another window and color in the Christmas picture! Every day they’ll be greeted with a new festive holiday character to color in. By the time Christmas comes around, you’ll have a special keepsake of their hard work you can keep for years to come! If you have nieces and nephews, or if you are sponsoring a child overseas, this is a lightweight advent calendar you can send along for not very much in postage.

Christmas Coloring Countdown

Print this free countdown to Christmas calendar on cardstock for best results. If you have colored paper for the the numbers that would add some holiday cheer!

PRINT

Homeschool Spelling Curriculum

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Interactive Spelling Activities for Any List

I don’t know about you, but spelling has been a constant struggle in our homeschool. We’ve tried many dedicated spelling curricula over the years, and they are either much too easy or much too hard for my children. Often they are quite boring and require hours of writing and rewriting words with little to no interactivity.

Additionally, they are often expensive, requiring us to purchase a teacher’s manual or a slew of manipulatives that my students bore of quite easily. For spelling, what I really need is a variety of engaging ways to encourage my children to practice their spelling words. I want them to have FUN while working on their spelling words. Is that too much for this homeschool mama’ to ask?

Well, this month, I decided that I had enough, and set out to create my own spelling word resources. I chose the following goals for this resource:

Let me tell you that I am BEYOND excited to announce our latest product: Editable Interactive Weekly Spelling List Pack

  • Editable for Any Word List
  • Adaptable for Multiple Ability Levels
  • Weekly Progression of Knowledge
  • Covers Written & Oral Spelling Activities
  • Covers Syllables, Vowels, ABC Order, Beginning Letters
  • Interactive, Hands-On Activities & Games
  • Is Virtually NO-Prep for Me :)

Let me walk you through how this spelling product works! Basically, on the first page of the product, you’ll type in your own word list (10 new words and 2 review words), and it will instantly AUTOFILL your words directly into all 18 pages of the document, giving you an entire week of custom spelling activities and games. Isn’t that exciting? Here is how a typical week will look:

Spelling PreTest

(Optional) If you’d like to see you’re your student knows beforehand, you can have them take the spelling pretest. This is also helpful for students to see their own progress. We recommend having students take this spelling pre-test at the start of the week on Monday. Remind your students that they aren’t expected to know these words, it’s just for them to compare their progress at the end of the week.

MONDAY:

(after the optional spelling pretest)

Robot Roll Game: Students roll the dice, add the number. Students match the number they rolled to their spelling words and write that word in the empty box.
Inspect & Trace: Students identify consonants & vowels, tracing their spelling word with different colors. Next, students circle the number of syllables in their word.

TUESDAY:
Spelling Practice Fold & Peek: Students practice writing their spelling words. Words are written along the right side of the paper where students can fold, cover, or peek as needed.
Dab & Spell Aloud: Students use bingo daubers to find and dab their word. Each time they dab, students spell the word aloud.
Word Worm: Students spin and read their spelling word aloud. Students then write the word on a worm and spin again.


WEDNESDAY:
Letter Boxes: Students write their spelling words in the shaped boxes.The shapes of the boxes give students a clue as to what letter might fit in the box.
Roll & Write: Students roll the dice and practice writing their spelling words in the columns. The first column to fill up is the winner!
Target Word Practice: Each letter has a number value. Students write their words, then calculate the value based on the number chart.

THURSDAY:
Rainbow Alphabet: Students write their words in alphabetical order. Then students write their words in rainbow colors.
Spelling Word Cards: This set provides you with spelling word cards for each of your spelling words. Cards can be used for flashcards, or as a memory
Spin & Dab: Students spin and dab a letter from the word they land on until the word is spelled completely. Students read and spell each word aloud. Crayons can be substituted in place of a dauber.


FRIDAY:
Mystery Spelling Word JumbleStudents decipher the spelling word by identifying the beginning letter of each picture and writing the letters in order on the line.
Spelling List BingoStudents play spelling BINGO in small groups with these bingo board cards. Since each word has the possibility to be called multiple times, students can choose strategically.
Spelling Bee GameStudents practice spelling their words as they collect each one for their game board. Students must collect and spell each word correctly to win the game.Full instructions provided on the game board. (2 pages)

Click Here for more details on Interactive Spelling

Mushroom Unit Study

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September is National Mushroom Month, its the perfect time to dive into a nature study on the topic. You really don’t need to wander farther than your own backyard, the next open field, or local state park to unearth your next nature study. There are so many things to learn about and enjoy while keeping it simple.

Free Fall Unit Study

Just choose a topic, like mushrooms, and expand upon it with books, nature walks, videos, hands-on activities and even recipes. I have gathered some starting points for you here that would make a great unit study on their own, choose just one, or expand on them even further!

If you are unable to find any mushrooms growing wild in your area you can use your reference books or look online and complete most of these activities.

Mushroom Investigation- Go on a nature walk and bring some mushrooms home (we found all these in our own backyard). Be sure that you know they are safe, I personally prefer to be the one picking the mushrooms and I use gloves at that. Maybe that is overkill but it works for me. There are a few recommended books for learning about mushroom identification that I’m sure you could find at your local library before your nature hike.

Spore Prints

Mushroom Spore Prints- Spore prints are the powdery residue that is left behind under mushrooms and other fungi. They are often used to identify different types of mushrooms. You can make spore prints at home for some fun mushroom science!

How to Make a Spore Print:

Cut the stems off your mushrooms and spread them out on a piece of white paper with the gills (underside) facing down. Add a little water to the top of the mushroom by spritzing lightly with a spray bottle or use a paintbrush to apply.

Let your mushroom tops sit at least overnight. When your pull your mushroom top up you will see the unique prints it leaves behind

Mushroom Photo Hunt

For this activity, you can let your child use a digital camera or smartphone. Head out on a nature walk and look for different types of mushrooms or other fungi and capture them with a photo. If you want to know what you found right then and there you can use a program like iNaturalist to identify them immediately.

Print the photos or simply review them on the phone and research the names using a combination of internet and reference books, this is a great easy way to incorporate some research skills!

  • Research the names of each.
  • Identify at least 3 different types of mushrooms.
  • Determine whether the mushrooms are edible or not.
  • Observe the color, the size, the location you found them,

Spelling/Vocabulary-Have your child look up the definitions for and use the following words as spelling practice for the week: Fungi, spore, mycelium, scales, hymenium, annulus, stipe, gills, and volva. Younger children can work on simple terminology like cap, stem, mushroom.

Parts of a Mushroom Worksheet

Nature Journal Sketch- Whenever we do a nature study I like to spend at least one day a week creating a page related to our study in the nature journal. I like to give the kids a spiral-bound notebook with watercolor pages, it is great for many different mediums like a pencil to sketch, beautiful watercolors, chalk pastels, oil pastels, and good old colored pencils.

Free Mushroom Printables from Homeschool Clipart

Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet

Encourage your child to lightly draw images of mushrooms with a pencil and then color it in with watercolor.  Once dry, let them label the types of mushroom as well as its parts depending on their ability. You can use your favorite medium but I love watercolors because they are light and easy to carry out in the field or to use at home. For your art journal, you could also draw and paint the life cycle of a mushroom.

Sauteed Baby Bella Mushrooms

I like to incorporate cooking into our lessons as much as possible because it can utilize so many skills- math, science, following directions, geography, knife skills, and other basic life skills. We grabbed some Baby Bella mushrooms from the grocery store and I incorporated them into a very simple dish for the kids to make and they were able to use knife skills and learn about stove safety while tasting something they made with their own hands!

  • You will need 1 package Baby Bella mushrooms, 3 T. butter, 2 teaspoons diced garlic, 1 tsp. Dried parsley, salt, and pepper to taste.
  • Rinse and wipe off mushrooms well with a paper towel to remove any remaining dirt.
  • Slice mushrooms into thick pieces.
  • Melt butter over medium-high heat.
  • Stir in mushroom slices and all seasonings except garlic, sautee for 5 minutes.
  • Add garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
  • Add mushrooms to hamburgers, over green beans, or eat them straight off the dish!

Ideas for younger children:

  • Create your own mushrooms with playdough.
  • Make and paint a mushroom with paper plates.
  • Make a mushroom sensory bin with soil, moss and fake mushrooms.
  • Sort edible mushrooms by size.

Learning about mushrooms can be tons of fun! With all the possibilities for art projects, nature hikes, hands-on journaling, and even recipes, this is definitely a unit study you want to add to your fall line-up!

10 Strategies for Improving Dysgraphia

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Dysgraphia truly requires a multi-pronged approach to see the most success.  Like many other learning disabilities, there is quite a wide range for how light or severe the symptoms are and how much they affect day to day life. Some children improve with lots of writing practice, some need a break from excessive amounts of writing because it just becomes overwhelming. Using a variety of tailored resources can help improve your child’s dysgraphia and cut down on their frustration.

What is Dysgraphia?

“Dysgraphia is the condition of impaired letter writing by hand, that is, disabled handwriting.” (International Dyslexia Association) Dysgraphia is more than just poor handwriting and there are multiple conditions that closely resemble dysgraphia, so educating yourself about and understanding related or comorbid conditions is paramount to teaching a child with dysgraphia. Here is a great resource for understanding what Dysgraphia is and isn’t.

Homeschooling with Dysgraphia

  1. Occupational Therapy- An occupational therapist can help your dyspraxic child thrive. Not only will a good OT work on your child’s biggest challenges with them at sessions but they will also work with you to give you strategies to continue at home. They will address the physical aspects of writing and other fine motor issues as well as how they handle it emotionally. If it is possible for you to see one I highly recommend at least getting a thorough evaluation so you have a good baseline to work from.
  • Slant boards- Slant board help create a better posture and hand alignment for your child to write with, increases the stability of the paper, and helps with visual tracking.
  • Apps- Use apps like SnapType, that was developed by an OT to reduce the amount and stress of writing. Whether they attend public, private, or homeschool this accommodation can make a big difference in the quality of their work. Grab a snapshot of their work with the iPad, open it in the app and they can touch where they need to add text and a keyboard pops up for them to enter answers. 
  • Reducing the amount of writing- Some kids may just get worse and worse the more they are required to write. Dysgraphia is not something that just goes away and while some kids may improve with consistent writing practice, some just may not. Reducing the amount of required writing by using assistive technology or allowing answers to be given orally can take off a lot of the pressure. Homeschooling allows for these learning adaptations, so don’t be afraid to adjust lessons to suit your child.
  • Change up the way they write-  Sometimes just the act of writing with a pencil puts a strain on them emotionally, it can be so difficult for a dyspraxic child to put their thoughts on paper or remember how to spell a word when they are focusing on neatness. Breaking up the monotony can help! Take your writing to another surface like a dry erase board, a chalkboard,  on a table covered in shaving cream, or in a salt tray.
  • Build Up Fine motor skills- Encouraging your child to play with LEGO, clay, playdough, puzzles, and simple things like gluing and cutting help to improve fine motor strength and skills which can in turn help with writing. Use whatever their favorite activity like a reward and also just plain fun, incorporate it as much as possible, they won’t even realize that they are building up strength in their hands. Check out our Fine Motor Skills Activity Packs Here.
  • Typing– Typing for many children allows them to work on things like sentence structure, paragraphs, grammar, and spelling without the stress of also worrying about neatness. Find a great typing program like Typing Without Tears for your child to complete larger writing assignments.
  • Try Cursive- Many children with dyspraxia find cursive much easier than print. The smooth flow of the connecting letters offers a steady movement that they find easier to master. There is less struggle with letter spacing and it seems to put less stress on the hand. 
  • Pencil Add Ons- There are many to choose from and you may have to try a half dozen or more before you find one that is just right. From pencil weights the encourage children to slow down their writing to those that help improve pencil grip.
  • Exercise- You may not think whole-body exercise plays a part in improving dysgraphia but it certainly does. Getting plenty of exercise for the whole body improves fine and gross motor development, posture, and overall muscle tone- which will show up in their writing!

BONUS TIP: Offer smaller writing lines for your student. One mistake I made with my kiddo was thinking that he needed to perfect his letters at larger sizes BEFORE moving him to smaller lines. However, in his particular case, I noticed that his letters got much tidier when he was able to write smaller. So, don’t be afraid to try smaller lines, it may be a good fit for your kiddo too!.

One Small Square Nature Journal

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Nature Journals are a popular way to engage children in the great outdoors. The flora and fauna of your local neighborhood become the teachers in the ultimate open-air classroom. Detailed nature studies are exciting, but can also be a good deal of work. As a summer alternative, try a tiny square nature journal. It has all the benefits and enticements of a full-blown nature study, packed into one little square. This makes it easier for kids to do on their own, and leaves plenty of time for summer fun!

For added learning, visit your local library or pick up this fantastic series of books called, “One Small Square.” These books feature beautiful illustrations of diverse flora and fauna tucked inside a small square picture of different habitats, and your children will be enthralled by them!

Find Your “Square”

The first step to this type of study is locating a spot. This is where the entire study will take place. It should be a spot that is easy to get to frequently. One in your backyard or a close by a park that you frequent would be perfect.

Your spot should be on the small side, only 2-4 feet wide and long. It should be compact enough for a child to do a thorough investigation in a matter of minutes. Try to pick a location that has a variety of vegetation.

Make a Habit of It

The purpose of a tiny square nature journal is observing changes over time. It invites the children to take a very close look. When observing large areas, it is easy to miss so many details. The larger trees, animals, and insects grab your attention. However, even the smallest of squares is teeming with activity.

Decide how often you will visit your little spot. Every day? Once per week? Make sure you will get in enough observations to see the smallest changes, but remember it is summer. This activity should not add stress to your day. Regular visits are crucial to this project, so think of how you can make them part of your routine this summer.

The Big Picture

A little square can be packed with big life. Observing the changes each visit, and recording them in your journal, will help children understand the bigger picture of your eco-system. So many tiny creatures, subtle changes, and little food chains keep the environment healthy and growing.

Drawing or photographing your spot on visits or at different times of the day can offer a deeper appreciation of what happens when we aren’t looking. By comparing photos or drawings from early summer to early fall, or early morning to late at night, your child will grow in his appreciation and understanding of the world around him.

Establishing Some Roots

A one tiny square nature journal inspires ownership. This is your child’s special spot. He will be more inclined to protect it and learn from it long after the project is over. Just like the roots of trees stretch far down below the soil where we can’t see them. Having a vested interest in a tiny eco-system will extend far past the summer project. This is a chance to really connect with nature on a deep level with a project that takes just minutes per day.

Free Nature Journal Printables:

Use these free printable Nature Journals to track your Small Square!

Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall

How to Fail at Homeschooling….

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Homeschooling your children is a monumental task. If you ask, most homeschool moms would tell you that their biggest fear is failing! Everyone wants to get it right and do the best for their children. However, sometimes trying hard not to fail at homeschooling is the surest way to fail! Here are seven ways to fail at homeschooling and what to do instead.

Making Homeschool Your Number #1 Priority

This would seem like a positive move. Making homeschooling your top priority will make you work harder and focus on success which will guarantee you do not fail, right? Wrong! Your homeschool is important but it cannot come before all the truly important people in your life. Your husband, your children, and God should always be your primary focus. When homeschooling ranks above everyone and everything else, you will be missing out on the special opportunities to enjoy your family and will quickly burn out. You need clear priorities that place homeschool in its proper place, as something you do not your sole reason for being.

Tips for Success:

Homeschooling is important and can become consuming. However, it should never take the place of your focus on your family and faith. After all, those are probably the reasons you started homeschooling in the first place. You will have more success if homeschooling is a family priority that does not get in the way of living your life.

Great Expectations

You start your homeschool journey or the new year with high hopes. You are going to make this the best homeschool ever. Your children will love every activity and excel in every subject. You will show the world how superior the homeschool model is! Failure is not an option. With homeschooling, you children will be perfect. They will enter college at 15 and earn full scholarships to the most elite programs. Your homeschool room with be the envy of every social media maven and you will still cook nutritious, three course dinners every night before spending hours in front of the fire while Suzy plays Schubert on the piano and Johnny recites Plato from memory. Ah, you will not only not fail, you will be perfect! Nothing is perfect though, and hoisting high expectations for perfection on your children will squash their desire to learn, as well as their creativity.

Tips for Success:

Goals and standards are good, but they need to remain in check. Perfection doesn’t equal success. If you don’t want to fail, accept that learning requires failure sometimes. Your children will not do everything perfectly. That is part of learning. Instead, be realistic. Kids will be kids. Let them explore and make messes. Give your children room to grow at their own pace. Enjoy the journey instead of rushing for the goal. Failing sometimes is actually the best way to succeed!

Too Many Extracurricular Activities

What about socialization? Homeschool kids need socialization. If they spend too much time at home they will be social failures. They need time with other children and rigorous activities. So, signing up for every extracurricular under the sun makes sense. You don’t want to raise socially awkward children. However, running to all the activities causes homeschool failure. Parents and children get tired and worn out. Family life suffers. Getting school work done gets stressful because of time constraints. Instead of giving kids a happy social experience, you create misery.

Tips for Success:

Extracurricular activities are good. They just need balance. Socialization happens everywhere. Homeschool children do not need to be at activities every day. Focus on a few activities that your child really want to do. Pick ones that fit your schedule, budget, and family values.

Not Addressing Learning Needs

Taking a one size fits all approach is a sure way to fail. You choose the top rated curriculum. You know, the one “everyone” at co-op is raving about! This is what will make your homeschool successful. Your child struggles with the work. It isn’t working for him, and you don’t understand why. You keep at it. He just needs to try harder. Failure is not an option. But instead of progress, you both get more frustrated.

Tips for Success:

The beauty of homeschooling is that it is personal and individual education. Trying to force a square peg into a round hole will never work. Every child has learning needs and a unique learning style. If a program isn’t working, the problem is probably the program. When you find resources that fit your child’s learning needs, your homeschool will thrive.

Self Defeating Attitude

There are two sure fire ways to fail at homeschooling. The first is to believe that you will fail. The second is comparing yourself to others. Comparison is the thief of joy. There is no one right way to homeschool. When you set yourself up as not being good enough, you set yourself up to fail. It’s easy to think that someone else, especially someone you only know through social media or blogs, is doing a better job that you. Everyone has struggles and everyone experiences homeschooling failures sometimes.

Tips for Success:

Instead of feeling like you don’t measure up, look at what is going well. Work on building the homeschool that works best for your family. No one has it all together, all the time. You can do this, believe in yourself!

Expecting School at Home

Most homeschool parents went to traditional brick and mortar schools. They know how school works, so they model homeschooling on their experience at traditional school. However, homeschooling is not school at home. Schools are designed like a factory, they are setup for production and testable results. There are rigid standards and strict schedules. Alternatively, homeschooling is an education model, with more flexibility. If you are trying to replicate school at home, it will increase your chances of failure.

Tips for Success:

Homeschooling should be about education at home. It is a lifestyle, not a school choice. Develop a love of learning in your home. Focus on the experience, not checking off boxes to keep up with public schools. You chose to homeschool because you wanted to escape public school education. Dare to be different and educate your children as a family, not a school. There is a fine balance between pushing for childhood development, hitting suggested milestones, and the standards of educational growth while allowing self-led learning, engagement, and natural discovery. Finding that balance for your own homeschool will lead to a successful outcome.

Free Homeschool Student Portfolio

Simple homeschool planning resources you will actually use!  These resources will help you meet state homeschooling requirements as well as add a little organization to your homeschool goals for the year. Inside you’ll find the following resources:

  • Colorful Cover Sheet
  • Student Profile Sheet
  • Monthly Tracking Log
  • Weekly Tracking Log
  • Daily Attendance Sheet
  • Quiz & Test Scores
  • Field Trips Log
  • Physical Education Log
  • Volunteer Hours Log

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Can You Afford to Homeschool?

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Homeschooling, like anything with kids, can be very expensive! You may be hyperventilating when you search for curriculum options. This can lead many prospective homeschoolers to quit before they begin. They feel like they could never afford homeschooling. Homeschooling does not have to be expensive!With a little planning, it is very doable. Before diving into purchasing curriculum, learn how to budget like a ninja for homeschooling. Here’s a four step plan for you to make an annual plan that works.

Take an Inventory of Income and Expenses

The key to making anything affordable is knowing how much you have to spend. Knowing how much you have coming in and going out is vital. If you already keep a budget, great! Look over it and decide how much you can allocate to homeschooling.

If you don’t have a written budget, or your budget is tight, dig a little deeper. Take some time to look over your expenses. What other expenses need to be covered? Is there anything that can be cut or modified to make more room for homeschool resources? You may want to get a budget tracking app, such as MINT, to help with tracking expenses. After a few months, you will have a better idea of where your money is going.

Decide What You Can Afford

Now that you have analyzed your expenses, it’s time to build your budget. How much can you afford to spend? How much money and how much time. Time probably wasn’t what you were thinking. Saving money takes time! Yes, there are ways to homeschool for almost nothing but, everything has a cost. If you are choosing to create everything yourself to save money, you need to find a way to budget more time. There’s no such thing as completely free. Buying a boxed curriculum is expensive, but you will not have to create lesson plans, activities, etc.

On the other hand, you can save hundreds of dollars by building your own curriculum. You will need to budget time to gather all the materials, write out lesson plans, make up tests, and so on. Homeschooling can be affordable, just be realistic when budgeting your time and money.

Create Goals for Each Student

Homeschooling can also get expensive when you don’t have a goal. It is easy to get swept up in the amazing curriculum options. It is important to know what you need and truly want your children to learn. What subjects are required? Is there anything else that you want to add? Be careful not to add too much. One or two additional subjects is plenty. Remember this is about budgeting time and money. If you buy more curriculum than you can use, you are wasting money.

Try our FREE Homeschool Goals Worksheet!

Look at your goals and make a list of exactly what you need for each child. Are there any special tools you will need( such as a microscope or laptop?) See how many resources you already have or can borrow. Now it’s time to divide your overall budget between your children according to their needs.

Do Your Homework

Research is an important part of being prepared. Know what you want and research the options BEFORE attending any type of curriculum sale or homeschool conference. This will help you stay focused and make an informed decision. Look into how the curriculum works and what learning styles it serves. Read over reviews for potential curriculum choices. Know how much the curriculum choices cost and what they go for used. Having a short list of ideas will keep you from getting overwhelmed with the options. Also, an informed consumer makes better decisions. Your research will keep you on budget and help you avoid buying something you don’t really want. Remember sales representatives can be very convincing. Of course, they all sell the “best” resources around.

Try our Free Simple Homeschool Planning Pack

Fine Motor Activities for May

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If you are looking for ideas for your May Preschool Themes, today I have a great set of resources you can use to create many fun hands-on learning opportunities in your classroom. Our monthly fine motor activity packs have quickly become one of our best-selling resources for good reason! They are low-prep, interactive, simple, yet engaging activities that students of all ages are drawn to.

If you’ve missed any of the previous months, you can pick up the discounted Fine Motor Activity Bundle here. Here is a peek inside our May Fine Motor Activity Pack.

Seeds & Plants Fine Motor Printables

Our first theme for May is seeds and plants. Students work on a variety of different skill building exercises designed to create a thematic unit for your preschool classroom.

  • GEOBOARD: Students use rubberbands to create the pictures on a geoboard. Each sheet features a letter of the alphabet alongside a thematic picture.
  • MAZES: Students solve the mazes and follow the prompts. Each page features thematic mazes alongside a tracing activity or prompt.
  • 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.

Spring Flowers Fine Motor Activities:

April showers bring May Flowers! After learning about seeds and plants, your classroom will be filled with flowers of all sorts!

  • TRACING: Students trace the pictures with colored pencils or fine tip markers. Each page features thematic content and prompts students to complete the pictures.
  • 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 difficult patterns. A full-color example is available for easy reference.

Farm Animal Fine Motor Worksheets

After learning about all the new plant life that comes with spring, students will be thrilled to work on new farm life activities! This collection provides students with fun fine motor worksheets based on barns, and farm animals.

  • LISTENING SKILL SHEETS: Teachers will read the directions aloud and the student listens carefully to finish the task. Tasks involve fine motor elements, coloring, and prepositional positioning of drawings
  • CUISENAIRE™ ROD PICTURES: Students use colorful centimeter rods to build thematic pictures. Students are asked to color the rod key to show how many rods they used of each color.
  • BRICK BUILDERS: Students use classic building blocks to recreate these thematic pictures. Students work on storing, planning, and stacking before creating their final picture.

Mother’s Day Preschool Printables

Towards the end of May it’s time to celebrate our end of the year holidays; Mother’s Day and Memorial Day. With these printables activities, students will have a fun bouquet of tulips to give to Mom.

  • 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).

Memorial Day Fine Motor Worksheets

Finishing out our May themes is a collection of Memorial Day printables you can use to creat a patriotic unit in your classroom. Students can learn of the great sacrifice our men and women in uniform have made, and how we celebrate and thank the for their courage and bravery.

  • 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 x 2: 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.

Our May Fine Motor Activity Pack is available as a single download, or part of our year-long Fine Motor Bundle here in our TPT store!

Fine Motor Skills Activities for Preschool

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If you have a preschool student who is in need of working on fine motor skills, you’ll want to provide them with numerous hands-on activities and development tools. These activities should provide students with the opportunity to use their small motor muscles while having fun learning.

Our monthly fine motor skills activity packs are filled with engaging resources, worksheets, activities, and games that build those small motor muscles for young students. If you have missed the prior months activity packs, not to worry, you can still pick them up in our TPT store here.

HUGE Brick Building Mat Mega Pack Available Here

April’s pack is filled with fun, thematic learning opportunities covering Weather, Earth Day, and Easter. NOTE: If Easter falls in March you can simply swap out the Butterfly & Frog theme from March for the two weeks of Easter in April. Everything is designed to coordinate and adapt to the changing holiday. Here is a peek inside our April Fine Motor Pack. For each of the themes, there are at least 14 activity pages described below:

Earth Day Fine Motor Skills Activities
  • GEOBOARD: Students use rubber bands to create the pictures on a geoboard. Each sheet features a letter of the alphabet alongside a thematic picture.
  • MAZES: Students solve the mazes and follow the prompts. Each page features thematic mazes alongside a tracing activity or prompt.
Weather Fine Motor Activities
  • TRACING: Students trace the pictures with colored pencils or fine tip markers. Each page features thematic content and prompts students to complete the pictures.
  • PUZZLE PICTURES: Students use puzzle blocks to create thematic pictures. These sheets feature thematic shapes and provide students with easy and more difficult patterns. A full color example is available for easy reference.
  • LISTENING SKILL SHEETS: Teachers will read the directions aloud and the student listens carefully to finish the task. Tasks involve fine motor elements, coloring, and prepositional positioning of drawings
Easter Fine Motor Activities
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
Easter Fine Motor Activities
  • 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 x 2: 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.
Fine Motor Skill Games
  • CUISENAIRE™ ROD PICTURES: Students use colorful centimeter rods to build thematic pictures. Students are asked to color the rod key to show how many rods they used of each color.
  • BRICK BUILDERS: Students use classic building blocks to recreate these thematic pictures. Students work on storing, planning, and stacking before creating their final picture.

With over 60+ pages of fine motor activities, this set is sure to be a hit for spring! With multi-level activities, this pack easily adapts to your homeschool or classroom setting. Read more and purchase from our TPT store here.

February Fine Motor Pack

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February is only a week away, and you might be looking for some fun, hands-on, low-prep activities for your little ones! If so, this post is for you! We’ve recently released our brand new February Fine Motor Pack which includes 50+ pages of thematic resources designed to keep your students engaged while building important small motor muscles.

Honestly, there are too many activity pages to list them all, but let me give you a little peek inside! Our February themes are Penguins, Valentine’s Day, Hot Cocoa, and Sweets and Treats.

  • GEOBOARD: Students use rubber bands to create the pictures on a geoboard. Each sheet features a letter of the alphabet alongside a thematic picture.
  • 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.
  • TRACING: Students trace the pictures with colored pencils or fine tip markers. Each page features thematic content and prompts students to complete the pictures.
  • 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.
  • 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!
  • MAZES: Students solve the mazes and follow the prompts. Each page features thematic mazes alongside a tracing activity or prompt.
  • POM PICTURES x 2: 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.
  • 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).
  • 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.
  • LISTENING SKILL SHEETS: Teachers will read the directions aloud and the student listens carefully to finish the task. Tasks involve fine motor elements, coloring, and prepositional positioning of drawings
  • CUISENAIRE™ ROD PICTURES Students use colorful centimeter rods to build thematic pictures.  Students are asked to color the rod key to show how many rods they used of each color.

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.

Mother’s Day Art Project for Kids

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Mother’s Day is just over a week away and we’ve got some beautiful new printables you can use to create unique gifts and keepsakes for Mom.  As a homeschooling mom of four, sometimes I miss out on the secret projects and presents that kids make in class to bring home for Mom.  When my children got old enough to start creating projects I admit that it felt a bit awkward to assist them in making Mother’s Day related projects. But, once I realized how happy they were to GIVE something to me, and that they didn’t care that I saw the project along the way, I learned to relax a little around this time of year.

I learned that there is joy in working on a project with my children and that whatever the end result left us with, there was always a fun keepsake that I could cherish for years to come.  That is the thought behind some of the Mother’s Day Printables I’ve created and I hope that you’ll be inspired to print them up to work on with your own child.

The first project is a Mother’s Day Keepsake Booklet that includes 8 pages for students to fill in the blanks to keep the storyline going.  This is a super cute project for students that are able to write on their own, or for when you have enough teacher help to support transcription.

This might be my favorite Mother’s Day project because it provides such cherished responses from children, that moms are sure to love.  If you are using these in a preschool or daycare setting these are perfect for that too!  Moms will be surprised at the fun ways their children fill in the blanks to the story questions.

Younger students who are not yet writing too much might enjoy this simple cut and paste Mother’s Day Balloon Boquet.  Each heart features a character quality, with two blank hearts for children to customize.  We used our  NOYO Crayons for this project because they blend so well.

If you’ve never heard of NOYO crayons be sure to check them out.  They remind me of oil pastels, but you can get them wet and paint with them, and they dry super quick.

NOYO Crayons 36piece Set

1 CRAYON, 3 WAYS TO COLOR! Crayon-pastel-watercolor. Our NOYO crayons are buttery smooth. 36 vibrant colors glide easily and blend like pastels. Add a dab of water and voila! a watercolor effect! The bold pigment won’t wrinkle paper or crack when dry. Easy to smudge and it follows your way through with thick and beautiful effects. Our NOYO gel crayon is absolutely loved by teachers and a classroom favorite because of its versatility. These art crayons are a classroom must-haves.

First, we colored the hearts with one color leaving the edges blank.  Then we went back with a second color and colored the edges.  The result was some fun color combinations that make the balloons pop! 

Students can cut out the hearts on the easy cut lines then arrange and paste then on the bouquet sheet.  The result is a fun keepsake they can present to Mom on Mother’s Day!

Here are some links to get you started!

Mother’s Day Cut & Paste Activity

Mother’s Day Keepsake Craft

Mother’s Day Bible Crafts

Mother’s Day Coloring Pages & More

 

Love Bible Minibook for Kids

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It’s almost one month before Valentine’s Day and today I’ve got a special Bible Verse minibook based on LOVE!  This printable book is based off of 1 Corinthians 13, and shows children the character quality of LOVE in action.

Print LOVE Book Here

Printing & Assembly: This printable book is available in color or black and white and is intended to be printed on both sides of the paper.  Be sure to choose double-sided, flip on the short edge in your printer settings.   If you print with color be sure to use cardstock paper as the color bleeds through.   Once printed, fold the booklet in half, and in half again (so that the cover is correct).  You can then cut the page apart or trim the top, then staple together.   (Don’t worry if that is too confusing you can just cut apart the pages, place them in order and staple together.)

Looking for more Valentine’s Day Fun?  Check out our Valentine’s Day Bible Activity Pack