unit study

Pumpkin Unit Study

If you love all things fall and harvest, like beautiful imperfect round pumpkins there are many wonderful ways to incorporate them into your homeschool routine. Pumpkins can be turned into math, science, and history lessons, but also so much more. For a pumpkin unit study, you really need no special supplies or expensive curriculum, just a few pumpkins and some basic items you already have around the house.

Pumpkin Math

Grab a ruler, a scale, and a flexible measuring tape. Bring home several pumpkins or head to the pumpkin patch with them and work on some math skills.

Measure the height, width, and circumference of several pumpkins. Weigh pumpkins on a scale, remove the pulp and seeds and weigh them separately.
Have younger children place pumpkins in a line in order of largest to smallest and reverse. Cut open a pumpkin and count the seeds.

Once your pumpkin is cut open measure the amount of seeds vs. pulp.
Cut a small pumpkin in half, then quarters, then eighths to introduce or reinforce fractions with your child.
Use pumpkin seeds as manipulatives for counting, skip counting, grouping, creating arrays, use a fine tip sharpie to write numbers on clean dry seeds to use to create math problems.

Label the Parts of a Pumpkin

For this hands-on activity, you just need toothpicks and a bit of cardstock. Cut cardstock in small 1”x2” squares. Write the parts of a pumpkin on each piece of cardstock- stem, seeds, pulp, skin, and ribs.

Tape each piece to a toothpick. Cut pumpkin open or in half and have them stick the label in the correct place, hands-on fun is much more memorable than a worksheet!

However, if you’d rather not label an actual pumpkin, I don’t blame you one bit! You can still work on labeling and identification when you use our free Parts of a Pumpkin labeling worksheet. The set includes a Coloring Page, Notebooking Page, Chart, Labeling Sheet and a Cut and Paste Activity. You can also grab the pumpkin clipart to use within your own teaching resources, just be sure to read the Terms of Use first.

Cinnamon and Sugar Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

An easy pumpkin recipe is a great way to enjoy a hands-on activity for math, science, and reading skills. Recipes help children learn to follow directions, introduces them to fractions, scientific reactions, and more.

You will need:

¾ cup Pumpkin seeds
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin spice
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Remove the seeds from your pumpkin.
Wash well, drain in a strainer and remove all bits of pumpkin pulp.
Dry seeds well.
Toss in a bowl with melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon.
Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Allow to cool then store in a container with a tight-fitting lid.
A delicious treat to enjoy while learning all about pumpkins!

Quick Facts About Pumpkins:

In Colonial America they sliced to top off the pumpkin, removed the seeds and pulp then filled it with milk, spices, and honey, They then baked it right over hot ashes to make the first pumpkin pies!
Pumpkins are made of 90% water.
Every single part of the pumpkin is edible, even the stem.
Pumpkin is considered a fruit, mainly due to its seeds.

Decorating pumpkins this year but want an educational spin on it? Paint your pumpkin like a globe, label the oceans and continents. Have older children label additional details.

Pumpkin Art Project for Kids

If you want to add a little fall fun to your classroom try these DIY Pumpkin Window clings! Your kiddos can each design their own colorful pumpkin, using these special paints, and our free pumpkin template. You’ll have a unique fall decoration you can hang up for years to come!

Educational Pumpkin Books

Pumpkin Vocabulary

Pumpkin is from the Greek Word ‘pepon’ which means ‘large melon’.

Use the words below as spelling and vocabulary words for your child. There are many ways they can be used such as in sentences for handwriting and grammar,

Pumpkin, Gourd, Seed, Vine, Rind, Pulp, Seedling, Gourd, Harvest, Stem, Tendril, Ribs, Sprout, Skin, Leaves.

Pumpkin Geography

Read the following pumpkin facts aloud and have your child locate the places on a map.

Pumpkins are grown on every continent but Antarctica.
Morton, Illinois considers itself the pumpkin capital of the world.
The world record for the largest pumpkin is 2,600 pounds and was grown in Germany in 2016.

More Pumpkin Printables & Ideas:

We have a great variety of free pumpkin printables and teaching resources you can add to your unit study. These are great for adapting your lesson for younger students:

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!

10 Tips for Homeschooling around Holidays

December 20, 2017 By Valerie Mcclintick Leave a Comment

Life can get hectic at any point during the year, but this is especially true during the holidays. While most of these tips are written with Christmas in mind, they can apply anytime your school year gets busy.

1) Learn to say NO.

Volunteer opportunities abound during the Holidays, particularly at church. Homeschooling takes as much time as a fulltime job. Be very cognizant of not putting too much extra on your plate during this busy time. It’s okay to just say no.

2) Plan for The Time Off That You Will Need

It’s best if you plan for time off during the Holidays before you even begin the school year. Working a vacation into your lesson schedule will be a major sanity saver. Try your best to make it happen if you can. Read tips on Homeschool Scheduling Here.

3) Work on Your Kid’s Favorite Subjects

When kids are dreaming of Santa and sugar plums it will be harder for them to concentrate on their lessons. Getting ahead in favorite subjects can be a fantastic way to make this distractible time work for everyone. Better yet, try out our Holiday SMART Packs. They provide you with fun, thematic, educational content for an entire week.

4) Extra Reading Time

Even when your kids aren’t in classes, independent reading time is a great way to keep them in learning mode. Take a trip to the local library and pack in some holiday themed books! I know my children love to learn about the origination of each holiday or holidays in other countries for example.

5) Play Math and Reading Games

There are plenty of ideas online with learning games for every grade. Put some prep work in the night before and get your kids playing games that will teach them at the same time. ABCya and MathPlayground are two of our favorites.

6) Eliminate Non-Essential Chores

If there are any chores you feel comfortable eliminating for a few weeks, do it. There are plenty of nonessential things that can wait until the holidays blow over.

7) Swap sitting or hire a sitter.

Between parties, and Christmas gifts sometimes you just need extra help. If a sitter isn’t in your budget consider swapping sitting time with another family.

8) Shop Online

I love getting out of the house and shopping for presents, but let’s be honest online shopping can be a huge time saver. When you’re trying to homeschool through the holidays Amazon Prime is worth the price. Try Amazon Prime Free for 30 days Here.

9) Let Someone Else Host the Party

Logistically, sometimes it’s easiest to have the family with the biggest family, or smallest baby host the Christmas party. Consider however the amount of time and deep cleaning that will go into hosting your event. If someone else is willing to host, consider letting them.

10) Relax, and Enjoy.

Don’t let life get too hectic. Take time to sing, bake cookies, read books, make art project and absorb the season. Get plenty of pictures, and try to remember the smiles for years to come.

BONUS TIP: Try out our Holiday S.M.A.R.T. Packs for an entire week’s worth of engaging holiday learning!

Tiger Eyes Oil Pastel

The tiger is India’s national animal. It’s strikenly beautiful with the contrasting markings of black, white and orange. This oil pastel project is just right for your studies on India. Children will be amazed with the work they can do when given small amounts of instruction.The peacock is the National bird of India. It’s certainly one of God’s most beautiful creatures, and even young children can make these wonderful pictures. We provide you with step by step drawing tutorials, as well as instruction on using oil pastels to bring your peacock to color.

This tutorial is split into two parts:

Materials:

Cardstock or Pastel Paper
Oil Pastels
Pencil and Eraser
Black Line Marker
(Sharpie is fine)

Suggested Resources for a Unit Study:

Art Project Tutorial:

Step 1

For this art project you'll need to cut your paper in half lengthwise. NOTE: I'm using a sharpie so you can see my drawing, but you should use a pencil and eraser. You will go over your pencil with your marker at the end.

Step 2

Starting about one inch down on the left side make this backwards J shape.

Step 3

Add a curved line, stopping before you meet the bottom of your J.

Step 4

Continue the J into the top part of a circle, (which will be the eye) then bring the curvy line down to the bottom of the page.

Step 5

Create the bottom half of the eye as shown. Repeat this process on the other side of your paper in a mirror image. Don't worry if they are not exactly the same, mine aren't, just try to get the eyes level....use a ruler across as a guide if needed.

Step 6

Add curvy triangles under each of the eyes. Remember you are doing a mirror image on the other side.

Step 7

A sideways flying bird.

Step 8

Two upside down mountain peaks. Note the curvy lines being used, not straight mountains. Turn your paper over if it helps.

Step 9

Vertical elongagted diamond shape

Step 10

Make the eye shape by drawing a flattened circle shape. See how it is slightly flattened at the top

Step 11

Repeat all your markings for the other side of your paper. Remember it's a mirror image, but doesn't have to be exact.

Step 12

Your tiger nose is framed by black markings. Draw three diamond shapes as seen above. Your diamonds are curving diagonally..see next photo:

Step 13

See how your diamonds have a curve to them. They aren't exactly the same either, but you do want to try to get a similar amount of curve to them...... this is good!

Step 14

We're going to draw mountains up the middle of the nose....start small, with each one getting just a tad larger.

Step 15

As you draw the larger mountains, leave aren't perfect mountains!

Step 16

The top mountain is quite a bit thicker and more squiggly. We will come fill it in later, but try to get some squiggles in there for now.

Step 17

Use your Black Sharpie to go back and color in all your markings. Leave some blank white space around the eye area as shown.

Step 18

When you get to your mountains, color them in with a shaky hand :) You don't want them looking like perfect mountains. Thicken them up a bit, add some blob to your top mountain, and draw random blobs on the sides.

Step 19

Add some details to your other markings. You can draw in some extra blobs, and connect your bird/mountain to the top of your paper.

Step 20

Here is how my tiger looks all filled in and with it's extra markings.

Part 2: Coloring with Oil Pastel

Now that you've drawn your tiger eyes, come see how to color them with oil pastels in the second part of our tutorial.

View Resource

Science Activities: The Brain!!

October 9, 2011 By Valerie Mcclintick 6 Comments

We’re continuing on with our Human Anatomy science lessons.
If you haven’t already seen our activities for SKIN you can check out this post here.

These past couple of weeks we’ve been learning about THE BRAIN!

We made these amazing brain hats from EllenjMcHenry.com

We made our own brain puzzle to learn about the different lobes of the brain.

We made our own Electric Neurons

And I made the kids an Egg Carton Spinal Cord to use as a visual,
As well as a variety of printable games and activities and charts:

I even ordered a Brain Mold so we can make our own Jello brain!!

How fun will that be!

As usual I’ve posted all the files and photo tutorials for these activities on our main site,
You can find all our Brain/Nervous System crafts here.

And if you want to follow along with our Human Anatomy studies,
I’ll be posting links to each unit from this main page here.

UP Next: The EYE!!!

Pssst: Did you see that Maureen from Spell Outloud is also teaching on Human Anatomy…..Lots of amazing science resources over there too, be sure to follow along!