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Science Play: Make a Hanger Balance

Here’s a quick and easy balance you can rig up with your kids. Gather a few supplies, and you, too, can answer the burning question – which Chipmunk is the heaviest? Materials: clothes hanger yarn or string paper or plastic cups (strawberry baskets work well, too) hole punch tape (optional) I think you can see [...]

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DIY Gift: Detective Kit

I think I’ve mentioned before that my girls are into detectives, spies, secret codes, and all things mysterious (not scary!). They are reading Nancy Drew Notebooks, Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, Encyclopedia Brown, Jigsaw Jones, and Cam Jansen book series like crazy! I’ve been gathering ideas for detective/spy kits for quite a while, so [...]

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Hobby Starter Gift Ideas (Part 2)

I’m back with Part 2 of my hobby starter gift ideas. This time, I’ve gathered ideas for little gardeners, illustrators, and rock hounds. Enjoy! Gardening DIY Tutorials: Chalkboard Plant Markers :: Home Stories A to Z Flower Planting Kit :: Let’s Explore Plant Care Apron :: Sew Liberated Shredded Paper Seed Starters :: MADE Books: [...]

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Hobby Starter Gift Ideas (Part 1)

Themed-gifts are my favorite, so I have been gathering ideas for creating hobby starter kits. I love joining in with my girls as they try new things and explore their interests. Who knows where a childhood hobby might lead them as adults? Below you’ll find kid-friendly ideas for sewing, photography, and cooking. I’ve included links [...]

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Scavenger Hunt (Times Two)

A few weeks ago, we were heading out to run some errands with my mom, my sister, and my nieces. Delaney is not a big fan of shopping, so I knew she might not be thrilled with our afternoon plans. Wanting to be proactive, I grabbed a little notebook and starting jotting down things we [...]

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Exploring Apples

{Updated from original post, September 2009} We have been celebrating the arrival of Fall with some fun apple exploration – I love apple season! I made a simple printable booklet to record our apple activities. You can download our , if you like – enjoy! Predicting and testing if our apples will sink or float [...]

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Tool Sort

One of the (many) science topics we explored during our homeschool year was simple machines. Delaney is especially interested in machines, tools, and inventions, so this was right up her alley. We did a tool sort activity that the girls really loved, so I thought maybe your kiddos would enjoy it, too! First, hunt around [...]

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Paper Plate Life Cycle Spinners

This spring, as usual, we’ve been reading and talking about plant and animal life cycles. Here’s a fun project we did last spring – and we’re planning to revisit it again this month! {Originally posted at Early Bird Homeschool, May 2010} The girls had fun making life cycle spinners using two paper plates and a [...]

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Play + Learn: Kites and Wind

Use some of the wild energy a windy day brings and try some of these kid-friendly kite and wind-themed activities: Make a paper kite :: maya*made Create a brown paper grocery bag kite :: Rhythm of the Home Write a Kite Tail acrostic poem :: WritingFix Decorate your house with little origami kites :: Craft [...]

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Gift Idea: Beginner Microscope

I’ve been blogging in secret this week so I can show you some sneak peeks of the girls’ Christmas gifts. We often do at least one joint or family gift, and this year the girls are getting a beginner microscope. We are definitely ready to move beyond magnifying glasses around here. And, after spending a [...]

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