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You are here: Home / Archives for hands on

hands on

Mushroom Unit Study

August 2, 2019 By Valerie Mcclintick 2 Comments

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!

Filed Under: Fall Learning Resources, Nature Crafts, Nature Projects, Science, Unit Studies Tagged With: fall, hands on, mushroom, nature, unit studies, unit study

Bible ABC Dab & Dot Worksheets

September 28, 2018 By Valerie Mcclintick Leave a Comment

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!!

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Bible ABC, Bible Printables, Fine Motor Skills, Hands-On-Learning Tagged With: activities, bible abc, hands on, preschool, worksheets

Hands on Alphabet Printables

July 20, 2015 By Valerie Mcclintick 3 Comments

WoodenAlphabetSmall

If you’re looking for a fun way for your little one’s to learn the basic shapes of the the uppercase letters, I’ve got a great free printable set for you.

I’ve just added these to our Alphabet Printables at File Folder Fun and you can print a set in color or black and white.  You could even print them on colored paper if you want colored versions without paying for all the ink.

 

WoodenAlphabetExample

If you have a laminator, definitely use it on these before cutting the shapes out, as these will get lots of use.

Children can use these shapes to make the entire uppercase alphabet, making this set extra useful.  My children started making pictures with them, so I’m sure they will inspire a little creativity in your kids as well.

Print your own Hands on Alphabet Here

BinderTest3

 

Looking for more Alphabet Activities?  Check out our Letter of the Week Preschool Curriculum!

 

 

Filed Under: Alphabet Printables, Preschool Printables Tagged With: alphabet, hands on, manipulatives, preschool, printable, shapes

Printable Nets

September 21, 2014 By Valerie Mcclintick 5 Comments

 

These printable nets can be helpful for teaching young students geometry and geometric concepts.

Plus they are sorta fun to make!

 

New3

We recommend you print your nets on colored paper.  This makes it more fun and colorful.

You can print on cardstock and laminate if you’re making a classroom set, but we’ve just used regular strength printer paper for this set.

 

New2

Cut your nets out carefully, the tabs are in light gray and can be difficult to see on the colored paper, so go slow!

Crease all your folds.  We assembled ours so that the lines are inside the shape and don’t show.

Use a glue stick on the tabs for best results.
New1

 

Here is how our cube looks when assembled!

They won’t be perfect, but they are an inexpensive way to add a little hands on fun to your math lessons.

 

Nets

Print your set of Geometry Nets Here

This is a subscriber freebie so be sure you’re logged in first!

Find more Math Printables and Manipulatives here.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Full, Math Tools Tagged With: cone, cube, cylinder, geometry, hands on, math printables, printable nets, worksheets

Magnetic Grid Games!

May 13, 2011 By Valerie Mcclintick 2 Comments

I’ve been Ooogling Mama Jenn’s Puff Ball Magnets for MONTHS

(Remember Mama Jenn is the genius behind Education Cubes)

Well she also has TONS of fantastic learning game ideas
throughout her blog too….puff ball magnets being just one of many!

They look so colorful and fun, and best of all Hands-On,
but I never made them because I was waiting for Monkey
to get a bit older……somewhere past the age of the
“Everything goes into my mouth” stage.

Well, the time is here, and Monkey is now progressing
to the next developmental stage of learning:

He’s now in the “Everything goes into my mouth but I realize that somethings shouldn’t, and I should quickly take them out and exclaim, ‘yuck‘ stage.”

That is a real stage….Dr. Spock Says So.

That and Mama Jenn’s new Grid Games
just sent me over the edge!

I had to make them now,
because they will be so handy for Sissy and Bubba too!

So I followed her tutorial, using a Glue Gun because I too, am completely impatient.

(TIP: In case you are a sleep deprived Mom like me, be sure and put the glue on the magnet part first, and not the fuzzy puff ball part. Trust me.)

They turned out wonderfully didn’t they!

Then I printed out Mama Jenn’s Crown Grid game, and wrote each number 1-9 on the crowns three times each. There were three squares left over so I wrote 8, 2, 10 on each of them.

Then I slid the game into a page protector, and covered up the numbers with the Pom-pom’s.

To Play: Children take turns turning over two pom-pom’s at a time, with the goal of making 10. If a child makes 10, then they get to keep the pom-poms, if not, then they are recovered. Child with the most pom-poms wins. (I did write a 10 on one crown for a bonus pom)

The kids loved playing this game today, and we’re looking forward to more grid games! What Fun! Thanks Mama Jenn!


Filed Under: Homeschool Tools, New Posts Tagged With: education cubes, grid games, hands on, learning games, magnetic pom-pom balls, manipulatives, math games, printables, tot school

HS Recon: Spelling Printables

March 20, 2011 By Valerie Mcclintick 3 Comments

That’s right… Spelling!

Spelling is supposed to be fun!

And we’ve been a bit at a standstill with all the worksheets
that have been printed and cut apart and glued, and tossed
into the trash.

It is time for something NEW!

Time for Homeschool Recon: Spelling!

So Sissy (8) has a brand new Language Arts Curriculum that I’ll be posting about shortly, which includes her spelling resources.

(I’m so excited to share…I can hardly stand it!)

But Bubba (5) was in need of his own spelling program…..somthing fun to keep the boy busy, and learning at the same time.

So you know, of course that I just had to make him something.

(Any excuse to make a printable, and I’m there.)

So for the little fella, I came up with an easy to follow 5 day spelling program.

Nothing fancy, but lots of fun.

I posted all about it here, with details and links to the specific resources we’ll be using.

You’ll find some fantastic Letter Tiles:

printable letter tiles

And even a Spelling Train to use with your little ones:
Spelling Train

printable spelling resources

These are super adorable when you cut out the window and put your child’s picture in!

So, go check it out!

But then come back and
Tell me how you make spelling fun for your children,
I’m sure I could use a few more ideas for these rainy Oregon homeschool days!

Pssst…..
I’m participating in Spell Out Loud’s Birthday Bash!
Mark your calendars!

Filed Under: homeschool printables, Homeschool Tools, New Posts, Spelling Crafts Tagged With: abc order, alphabetical order, hands on, homeschool, letter tiles, printable train, spelling activities, spelling crafts, spelling printables

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I am a Christian mother of four, with over 13-years experience homeschooling in Southern Oregon. The resources and products I create are designed to keep the prep to a minimum while also bringing a little educational fun to your classroom

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#worksheetsforkids #numbermats Fine Motor Number C #worksheetsforkids #numbermats Fine Motor Number Charts, numbers 0-30. Our number charts will help your students learn one-to-one correspondence, numbers in order from 0-30, patterns, numerals, and their names. Our number charts are colorful and fun, making them a great first step to getting your students to count. Add them now to your math center! (Link in Bio) #craftyclassroom #homeschooling #homeschoolmom https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fine-Motor-Numbers-Charts-6734309?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=thecraftyclassroom&utm_content=Fine%20Motor%20Numbers%3A%20Charts
#worksheetsforkids #numbermats Fine Motor Number C #worksheetsforkids #numbermats Fine Motor Number Charts, numbers 0-30. Our number charts will help your students learn one-to-one correspondence, numbers in order from 0-30, patterns, numerals, and their names. Our number charts are colorful and fun, making them a great first step to getting your students to count. Add them now to your math center! (Link in Bio) #craftyclassroom #homeschooling #homeschoolmom https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fine-Motor-Numbers-Charts-6734309?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=thecraftyclassroom&utm_content=Fine%20Motor%20Numbers%3A%20Charts
Our HUGE Maze Activity Bundle includes a wide vari Our HUGE Maze Activity Bundle includes a wide variety of hands-on learning opportunities for your students!  Includes 15 maze activity packs filled with differentiated learning material for multiple ages and abilities.  Includes our popular Editable Word Mazes set that will allow you to create your own mazes using spelling words, sight words, student names, and more! (Link in Bio) #craftyclassroom #homeschooling #homeschoolmom https://craftyclassroom.com/product/maze-activity-bundle/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=thecraftyclassroom&utm_content=Printable%20Mazes%20for%20Kids
A-Z Beginning Letter Alphabet Mazes: This set incl A-Z Beginning Letter Alphabet Mazes: This set includes 26 individual letter mazes for students to practice the beginning letter sound. Students will follow this letter from start to finish by identifying different beginning letter sound pictures.
Alphabet Order Letter Mazes: Additionally, this set includes 10 A-Z mazes where students will follow the alphabet in order through the maze. These are a fun challenge for students who are ready for more. #superstarworksheets #craftyclassroom #homeschooling #preschoolprintables #sped #finemotorskills (Link in Bio) #craftyclassroom #homeschooling #homeschoolmom https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Beginning-Mazes-for-Kids-A-Z-and-Single-Letter-Alphabet-Order-Sheets-6502236?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=thecraftyclassroom&utm_content=Beginning%20Letter%20Picture%20Mazes%20and%20Alphabetical%20Order%20Mazes
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