Tag Archives: educational fun

Gardening With Children – Plants of Their Own

Today I took the boys to a local greenhouse and nursery. I told them they each could pick out a plant to take care of this summer. They were actually excited about the chance to pick out a plant of their own. Around our neighborhood we are just seeing signs of spring. We have a few crab apple trees blooming, and the trees are leafing out. At the greenhouse though – wow – everything was green, and growing, and blooming, and a rainbow of beautiful colors. We browsed through ten different kinds of tomatoes, many herbs and vegetables, and all … Continue reading →

School Projects

I was going to write that we haven’t been having a whole lot of fun around here lately. My fourth graders have been very busy with research projects. They worked a little bit on them over spring break, but not as much as they should have. They have a wonderful teacher this year who has them very inspired so that not just any old poster with information will do. Instead they’ve made documentary movies, three dimensional displays, PowerPoint presentations, and dioramas. All of this project making hasn’t left any room for fun. In fact, their projects haven’t left any room … Continue reading →

Google Earth and the Universe – Space Travel Fun

A few months ago, Jeff talked about Google Earth and how much fun it was to explore the program in one of his blogs. Now, with their latest version, Google Earth has gone into space. Now, not only can you type in San Francisco, you can type in Andromeda, Horsehead Nebula, or Orion. Google and NASA have compiled over a million Hubble Space Telescope and satellite images into a map of space. The project is mind boggling. And so is traveling through the universe! It’s so fun! You can type in an address and view the night sky from that … Continue reading →

Magnetic Poetry Fun

Is there poetry on your refrigerator? Magnetic poetry is a great addition to your house if you have children who are old enough to read and old enough to not eat the magnets! Besides, it’s a lot more fun than regular refrigerator magnets. The magnetic poetry kits come with lots of words printed individually on small thin strips of magnets. I love having these random words on my kitchen appliances. I’ve never seen a child (or an adult for that matter) who can resist rearranging the words. Playing with words encourages original thought, experimenting with language, and creativity. It’s a … Continue reading →

A to Z Educational and Fun Summer Activities: O-T

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So far, I have given educational and fun summer activities for the letters A through N. More fun learning activities are detailed in this article for letters O through T. Check back tomorrow for the conclusion of the alphabet! O = Outdoors! Make sure that your children get outdoor time each day that weather permits. Have them increase fine and gross motor skills by setting up various activities. Manipulating sand and small pebbles can increase fine motor skills. Set-up obstacle courses or have your child jump, run, and skip to increase gross motor skills. Both skills are important to academic … Continue reading →

A to Z Educational and Fun Summer Activities: A-H

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Summer is almost here and school is nearly out for vacation. Over the next few days I would like to introduce you to 26 A to Z fun and educational summer activities for children. I hope you enjoy them! A= Ants! Ants can be very fun and educational! Let your child observe an anthill (make sure it is not a fire ant hill) B= Butterflies! Caterpillar larva can be purchased from various websites. Try purchasing some and watch them grow into large caterpillars and then beautiful butterflies. I have completed this activity with students and family members. C= Cooking! There … Continue reading →

Sudoko Fun

I enjoy teaching kids to do Sudoko puzzles. Many children don’t want to try them at first because they think are math problems. The first thing I explain is that no math is involved. Sudoko puzzles use logic and reasoning skills which many kids lack or need to develop. I only tell them about the logic part – not that they lack skills! For children you want to start with easy puzzles. While the basic Sudoko has 9 squares of the numbers 1 through 9, you can find simple ones with 4 squares of one through four. You can also … Continue reading →

Creative Celebrations: Homeschool Activities for August

It’s fun to add a little spice to your curriculum and daily routine by celebrating unusual events and holidays. In July we celebrated great things like National Blueberry Month, and National Ice cream Day. . .did you try any of the recipes? Here is now the second installment of my home schooling activity calendar. Peruse through to find interesting facts, unusual holidays to celebrate and even better: ideas, links and activities to go with these special days! I would also like to invite those of you who are adventurous souls, to post pictures on your site of you and your … Continue reading →