How to garden with the kids.(Parenting.com)
How to plant hanging upside down tomato plants.(Instructables.com)
Great ideas for displaying your kid's artwork.(Parents.com)
Wonderful St. Patrick's Day activities.(familyfun.com)
I adore this YouTube video. I have been brainstorming all the fun things the boys can make lapbooks about. My Nine year old is already planning his 'Mythbusters' lapbook.
Honesty: Secret to Homeschool & Parenting Success
Resources for Colonial America learning
Daily Spanish lessons in free 15-minute podcasts
Feel free to send your links in to the sites you enjoy!
Blessings, Allison
Washable & Reusable Clear Tablecloths.
I love the thick, clear washable vinyl tablecloths at Walmart. I buy from the roll back in the Fabric Department, which I hear may be non-existent come April.
I paid less than $4 for 1-1/2 yards of the clear, thick vinyl to make a tablecloth.
I use this as a washable tablecloth for our dining room table.
I can slip maps under it and the children can use washable markers to map out a trip we are taking, or learn about the route taken by the Pioneers or even Lewis and Clark, as well as learning about the various states. This has been tremendous fun while eating lunch and I will say something like 'Where's Michigan" and the children will lift their plates to see who is nearest.
The tablecloth also works well for craft-time. Just use and wipe off any washable paint plasters, etc.
Submitted by Laura Williams
Laura Williams' Musings
http://laurawilliamsmusings.blogspot.com
Amazing Afternoons is a new service that offers worksheets providing a complete "afternoon" of special activities designed around a favorite children's book or bible story. Targeted to preschoolers, each worksheet includes an introduction to an excellent book and author or information on the bible story, craft idea, creative snack, a hands-on science project, fun math, games, questions to chat about, and places to find even more resources.
The worksheets are offered on a subscription basis and are emailed to you weekly. Check out a worksheet sample here!
I personally love this idea. It's a great way to get preschoolers excited about reading and show them how a book can be a springboard to so much more.
Parent Hacks posted a hack today extolling the virtues of telephone books as scribble material, as well as newspapers as tracing/pre-writing practice. Great idea!
Don't discount the value of junk mail, old magazines -- really any printed material at all. Kids love the pictures and it's an excellent way to begin teaching toddlers and preschoolers colors, letters, writing, drawing, identifying and more. Plus, you're being "green" by saving paper and finding more uses for your recycling.
[tags]parenthacks, coloring, writing, toddlers, preschoolers, homeschooling[/tags]
Another great idea from Family Fun magazine: Drop several drops of food coloring (multiple colors) on a sturdy, rimmed paper plate and send your kids out into the rain (works best when there is a light shower). The colors will splatter and blend, leaving your child with a beautiful work of art, a lesson in color mixing, and a bit of fun on a rainy day.
The Kids' Book Club Book looks like a great resource for homeschoolers and anyone wanting to start a book club. With its book-specific crafts, recipes and activities, it also seems useful for spawning ideas around any book your child reads, book club or not!
Here's a terrific art project I found at Parent Hacks: Have your kids arrange their valentines, birthday cards, holiday cards, etc, between two pieces of clear contact paper to make a placemat. It’s a fun way to save special cards and it might be interesting to save the placemats and pull them out again when the kids are older.
GeeGuides is a web-based animated art curriculum that delivers 16 lessons of art instruction that meet national curriculum standards. The program includes interactive activities, an art gallery and glossary, quizzes, challenges, rewards, assessment tools and a license for the Corel Painter Essentials program. The content is also cross curricular, linking to other subjects such as history and math.
At $69.95 for a year's subscription, it's not inexpensive. But if you're in the market for an art curriculum, this program looks engaging. The site doesn't specify the age-appropriateness of the lessons, but judging from the free sample lesson, I'd suggest it for ages 6 to 12.
Also check out the GeeKids section, where children can watch animated video, create their own e-greeting cards, or mix and match colors with the GeeGuides color wheel.
