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10 Fun Ways to Explore Shapes

1. Draw shapes outside with sidewalk chalk. Give your child shape challenges, like “march around the square,” “jump in and out of the circle,” or “count the sides on the triangle.” 2. Go on a shape hunt. Give your child a clipboard and paper with two or more shapes to find. Hunt inside and outside. [...]

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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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Celebrating Presidents’ Day

We have a couple of important birthdays to celebrate this month! I have collected some fun resources for learning more about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln this Presidents’ Day: George Washington For a good starter biography, I like David Adler’s A Picture Book of George Washington. It has enough information to be interesting, without being [...]

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Low-Key Country Studies for Young Kids

When I ask the girls what history or geography topics they would like to learn more about, “other countries!” is always at the top of the list. We explore one country at a time, focusing on the basics to give them a general “feel” for the country. Keeping my girls ages (seven and nine) and [...]

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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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Taking Dictation: Crafting Stories with Young Kids

I’m sharing a few ideas for capturing children’s creative storytelling at Simple Kids today. Here is a sneak peek: There is really nothing like the imagination of a young child. Long before they can write their own stories, children are ready and eager to tell their own stories. It is wonderfully empowering for a child [...]

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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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