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...

Nature study doesn’t have to take place in the woods or only at special destinations. There are many wonderful opportunities to observe and learn about the natural world right in own backyards. Here are a few simple ways that you can incorporate more nature focused activities into your homeschool week without leaving your neighborhood:  Backyard Nature Study Activities Bird Watching Grab a pair of binoculars and a bird guide and find a comfy spot outside to watch for birds, or you can even do it inside from a window. If you don’t have a bird guide, there are several good bird identification apps, our favorite is the Merlin Bird ID app.  When you spot a bird- note its color, size, and other details and see if you can identify it using your bird guide or app. You could also keep a list of or sketch birds that you spot. If you want to attract more birds to your yard, hang a bird feeder. My girls have one hanging from the tree right outside their bedroom window and they love to wa...

I made our first set of calendar wheels by hand for my oldest daughter, way back when she was preschool aged, as a simple hands-on way to learn about the passage of time and how we measure it. We ended up loving them so much that I recently made printable versions for my younger two daughters and added them as a freebie in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. The set includes a days of the week wheel, a months of the years wheel, a seasons wheel, and a weather wheel. Assembling and Using Your Calendar and Weather Wheels Grab a printable set here:  Calendar and Weather Wheel Set Cut out each wheel and each arrow. Laminate each piece and cut out again.  Poke a hole in the center of each wheel and the end of each arrow with a thumb tack. Attach one arrow to the center of each wheel with a paper fastener.  Hang on your wall or bulletin board and have your child turn the calendar wheels as the days, months, and seasons change. Turn the weather wheel daily to reflect the weath...

 Elementary age students really don't need fancy science curriculum or thick science textbooks. If that's what your child likes, then go for it, but it's not necessary. There is so much science going on around us all the time that you can easily use your everyday experiences and your child's interests to learn about all sorts of amazing scientific topics. In this post I share some of the easiest ways I've found to add a little science to our homeschool days. Nature Study There is so much to be learned by just observing and interacting with the natural world around us. Simple things like backyard bird watching, star gazing, watching the moon moving through its phases, observing insects, watching the seasons change, and researching about animal and plant life around your home are all great ways to incorporate science into your homeschool days. Check out this post for lots of simple nature study ideas:  42 Nature Study Ideas . Kitchen Science Most people probably don...

  My girls are 11 (12 in November), 6, and 3 this year so I have a middle schooler, an early elementary student, and a preschooler to plan for. My plan is to incorporate a lot of unit studies and journaling this year since they can easily accommodate a wide age range and a wide range of topics.  Since we tend to do a lot of student-led learning in our household, I don't like to over plan in case my kids' interests end up shifting mid-year. This is another reason we tend to incorporate a lot of journaling- it works well with just about any topic and doesn't require a lot of planning ahead of time. We do sit down and do some basic planning and shopping for the new school year each summer though.  Here is our tentative plan for this year: Science For the last several years we've picked one broad science topic as a yearlong theme. Spending time on a single topic on and off all year long allows us to dive in really deep. Topics we've done in previous years are birds, geo...

Recently there's been a lot of talk and even some legislation passed regarding what politicians like to call "school choice" and "funding following the student". At first glance these sound like great things. Parents being able to choose a school based on its merits, rather than children just attending whatever public school they live closest to, would create competition, hopefully leading to better public schools. The thing is, you can already do this. We already have school choice in this country. There are many valid education options outside of the public school system, and there are no laws preventing anyone from using them . If you are dissatisfied with your local public school, you are allowed to pull your children and home educate them or enroll them in a private school of your choosing. We don't need new legislation granting us school choice, we already have it. There are a lot of people in the homeschool and private school communities who think tha...