Fall Possibilities

We live in Vancouver,BC.  Fall time here is one of the most beautiful times of the year.  From the moment we step outside, we get the gift of breathtaking beauty all around us!  It is almost impossible not to feel drawn to pick up some of the gorgeous leaves scattered around the green grass.  My kids find the best leaves and they always want to keep them...of course!

Well instead of the leaves laying around the house.  I figured that we could come up with a nice simple craft. The kids love arts and crafts and to spend some time making something beautiful after a nice autumn walk, while you sip on hot cocoa is simply the best.

The age ranges of the kids were 3-7 (the page above was done by my three year old, the one below by my 4 year old).  They all enjoyed it a lot, they all put a lot of effort, and they all loved the results!

I put different textures and materials so they could really get creative!  And creative they got!

Have fun and remember :  Homeschool, it will always be worth your effort!!

Mixing Art and Science in one great day!!

For K-1 I bought a neat little book that brings what they call Science Centers.  The book is made of many different lessons you prepare in advance.  You need to tear the pages, laminate, cut, and photocopy.  Then you need to make folders, it takes a lot of work but in the end it is more than worth it.

I pick one Science Center a week (more or less) and we try to combine it with a day out or a nice Art lesson.  

In this case we picked the Science Center that teaches the difference between plants and animals (in a very simple way).  The kids complete the exercise and then they go for a walk trying to pinpoint plants and animals in our neighbourhood.  

Then they get to do an art project by drawing and/or colouring their favourite plant or animal.

 The butterflies we decided to do with finger paints.  They had a blast !

The trees we decided to use the eraser at the end of a pencil and colour it using dots.  

 The result was very very nice as you can see !

Have fun and remember :  Homeschool, it will always be worth your effort!!

Crazy About Dinos part 2

To complement our trip to the Dino Park, I decided to buy this amazing Smithsonian Science Project and do it with the kids.  I found it in Costco and I highly recommend it.  It is a package with three different Science projects for kids 8 and up.  But for example in this case we did the project with kids 4 - 8 and it worked out wonderfully!

The instructions are easy to follow and the project is fun and it's a great way to learn about what Archeologists do, and how Dinosaur bones are found.  It teaches them patience, and they get to appreciate the fact that some jobs require carefulness and precision.

The kids got to wear special goggles and they got to use special tools.  

Little by the little the imitation Dinosaur bones started appearing, every single one awakening their excitement and curiosity!

Each one took turns to use the different tools!

To have the opportunity to carefully dig out Dinosaur bones as if they were part of an Archeological excavation adventure was simply amazing!

At the end you have to gently wash the bones in warm soapy water and then you get to build your dinosaur !

 This project is definitively worth it and I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants to add a unit study on Dinosaurs to their Homeschooling Curriculum!





Have fun and remember :  Homeschool, it will always be worth your effort!!