Nature study often gets looked over in the winter time. It's cold, many animals are tucked away hibernating, and the trees have lost their leaves, but there are still so many amazing things to be learned from the natural world, even this time of year. Below are some of my favorite winter nature study activities and resources: Winter Nature Study Activities Look at snowflakes under a microscope- This activity works best if you chill your microscope and slide for a few minutes before you try to view snowflakes, otherwise your equipment will just melt the flakes. Birdwatching- Bird watching is a fun activity any time of year!  Here are my favorite resources for bird identification: - The Merlin Bird ID app : This app is amazing and allows you to ID birds by physical description, song, or photo. - The Audubon Online Bird Guide - The Golden Field Guide's Birds of North America Learn about animal tracks- Winter snow and mud provides the perfect medium for animal tracks. This online g

My kids and I love paper Christmas crafts and these angels are one of my favorites! They are so simple to make and always come out beautiful!  Paper Christmas Angel Instructions: For this craft you will need: -white paper -tape -scissors -a wooden bead -a gold pipe cleaner -craft glue or hot glue Start by cutting a piece of paper in half like shown in the picture below: Fold each half accordion style (like you are folding a paper fan), then make a fold about a third of the way down. Look at the picture below. Tape the two halves together and tape the bottom edge of the arms to the body. Cut a small section of pipe cleaner about 2 inches long and glue one end inside the hole of your wooden bead. Slide the other end of the pipe cleaner between the two accordion halves. Make a halo for your angel out of a gold or yellow pipe cleaner and glue it onto your angel's head. Now your angel is finished and ready to display! You can glue a string to the back of the dress if you'd like to h

Parents and educators often try to use simple language when teaching children, but I have found that kids are very capable of picking up new vocabulary words, even fairly difficult ones, especially when it is about a topic that they find interesting- like animals.  Your kids can learn how to speak like a scientist with this 17-page zoology vocabulary pack. The pack includes: 45 flash cards with vocabulary words and definitions, 4 posters, 2 worksheets, a crossword puzzle, and notebooking sheets. Grab it here:   https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Zoology-Vocabulary-Pack-8760739 Other Zoology Resources: - All About Insects! Printable Learning Pack - All About Birds! Printable Unit Study Follow me on: Facebook Instagram Pinterest

Some kids love to write, but many struggle with with it, especially in the early years. There are many factors that may cause a child to dislike writing including developmental readiness, sensory processing issues, learning disabilities, learning style, or maybe they just don't find it interesting yet. Whatever the reason or reasons may be, here are some ideas for making writing more enjoyable for our reluctant writers: Shopping lists One of the first writing activities my reluctant writer enjoyed was writing lists. It started with a project she wanted to do- building mini green houses for our garden plants. I told her I would buy her the materials, but gave her a budget and had her write out the list of materials. After that she started volunteering to write my weekly grocery lists and writing all sorts of other lists. Type it instead It may not provide any handwriting practice, but typing is a good skill to learn too. It's also good for fine motor development and strengthenin

  The most common arguments I hear against homeschooling tend to be concerns over socialization and over sheltering. Many people seem to think that homeschoolers live inside some sort of bubble, shut away from the outside world, but that couldn't be further from the truth for the majority of home educating families.  Homeschooling tends to make a child's world bigger, not smaller. If you stop to think about it, kids in the public school system are the ones who are sheltered from the outside world. They spend a large portion of their days with the same small group of children, their exact same age, tucked away from the rest of society. They spend their days in a system that allows very little autonomy, very little decision making, and very little real-life experience. When else in life are people so segregated by age? Or in a system that allows them so little interaction  with the greater community? There's a reason so many of our youth enter adulthood without the experience

Fall is a fantastic time of year for nature study- the leaves are changing, the weather is shifting, and the animals are getting prepared for the winter cold. There are just so many fascinating things going on in the natural world this time of year. Below are 19 fall themed nature study ideas: Fall Nature Study Activities Go Bird Watching and Learn About Bird Migration Many birds migrate in the fall, which gives us the opportunity to observe them as they pass by on their way south. Wildlife refuges, wetlands, rivers, lakes, parks, and even your own backyard are all excellent places to bird watch.  Plant a Fall Garden Carrots, green onions, peas, lettuces, and other green leafy vegetables all tend do well in cooler fall weather. Night Sky Gazing The days getting shorter in fall gives us more dark hours before bed to get outside and enjoy the night sky! Watch the moon as it moves through it's phases, learn to find prominent constellations, or just kick back and enjoy the view!  If yo

Happy fall!  T his post has instructions for several fun pumpkin themed crafts to try with y our kids this year!  *Scroll to the end of this post for a printable pumpkin anatomy freebie! Tissue Paper Pumpkin luminaries For this activity you need: -Orange tissue paper cut into squares about 2 inches by 2 inches. -Black construction paper  -Scissors -School glue -A paint brush or a sponge -A balloon Begin by cutting pieces for your pumpkin's face from the black construction paper. You will need eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Make them whatever shape you want. Next mix some school glue with water in a small washable container. You want about 50% glue and 50% water, but it doesn't have to be exact. Fill a second container with just water. Inflate your balloon and begin placing a layer of orange tissue paper squares onto the balloon and "paint" over them with water using a paint brush or a sponge. Cover about two thirds of the balloon, leaving a space around the balloon stem. 

  Math is a subject that can be hard to teach, especially to kids that are hands-on learners. It is so often approached only with textbooks and worksheets, making it frustrating and boring for kids who need to touch and manipulate. My oldest absolutely dreads doing math worksheets, so I have been scouring the internet for math activities that are fun and hands-on. Here's a few of the activities we've done, plus many more ideas I have on my list of things to try: Addition and Subtraction: Use Edible Manipulatives - math manipulatives are great for hands-on learners and they're much more fun if you can eat them when you're done. Foods that are small and solid work best- like M&Ms, goldfish crackers, raisins, or grapes. Grocery Store Math-   have your child help add totals at the grocery store. Visual Addition Pom Pom Drop  from Hands on as We Grow Dot Sticker Addition Activity from Busy Toddler  Math Towers- Unit Block Addition Activity from Nurture Store Dice Calcula