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Why Families Love Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry
Looking to do more than shopping on your next trip to the Windy City? I’ve got you covered! On our last trip we hit several museums, starting with the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. This museum is far more than its name suggests and is a great place to spend the afternoon with the whole family. Some links may be affiliate links. By clicking on them and/or making a purchase, I may make a small profit at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support and Safe Travels! Chicago’s Griffin Museum of Science and Industry Located on the coast of Lake Michigan, about 7 miles south of…
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Valentine’s Day Activities Preschoolers will Love!
Valentine’s Day is such a fun holiday to celebrate at home with your child or in the classroom with your students! I’ve put together a list of books and educational activities the little ones will love. Some links may be affiliate links. By clicking on them and making a purchase, I may make a small commission at NO extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my small business! Jump to: BooksScienceMath AlphabetKindness Favorite Valentine’s Day Books A list of books about Valentine’s Day, love, kindness and friendship! Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold LobelJust My Friend and Me by Mercer Mayer Little Blue Truck’s Valentine by Alice Schertle…
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Easy Science Lessons for your Valentine’s Day Festivities
When getting ready to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your students, science may not be the first subject you think of for planning an activity. However, I’ve found several ways to introduce science to this happy holiday! Click here for more preschool Valentine’s Day Activities. Some links may be affiliate links. By clicking on them I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Jump to: ClassificationMixtures & SolutionsColor MixingDancing HeartsScientific Method Valentine’s Day Science Classification During Valentine’s Day, a bag or two of candy hearts is going to get you far in your classroom (or homeschool)! Anyway…these hearts are great for sorting or “classifying”. Preschoolers can sort…
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The Gingerbread Man
Are you looking for secular winter curriculum? The Gingerbread Man is a classic tale and the perfect theme for December. With plenty of great literature lesson tie-ins, preschool and elementary students will love learning with The Gingerbread Man! *Some links on my site are affiliate links. This means I may make a small commission from you clicking on them and making a purchase- at NO extra cost to you! Thanks for your support. Whether you’re homeschooling and not ready for a full blown Christmas theme or teaching in a secular school, The Gingerbread Man is a great book to ease into the month of December. My favorite version is illustrated…
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Easy Setup for Homeschooling your Toddler That Actually Works
Thinking about homeschooling your toddler or preschooler? The good news is…you are probably already doing a great job! The better news is making sure your children hit milestones isn’t as complicated as you might be thinking. Here are a few ideas to get you started in the right direction. *Some links are affiliate links and I may make a small commission from your purchase at no extra cost to you. All opinions are my own. I am not a certified teacher, just a mom with 10+ years of early childhood education experience! Where to Start when Homeschooling your Toddler Set Goals Get on Google and find some developmental checklists for…
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How to use Disney when Homeschooling Math and Science
Continuing right where my other post, Homeschooling with Disney left off, here are even more ways to educate at home using Walt Disney World and Disney stories as a theme. This page will focus specifically on math and science with Disney. Originally posted Spring 2020 Math & Science with Disney *Some links are affiliate links, by clicking on them and making a purchase I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support and safe travels! In my last post I wrote about using Disney World as your homeschooling inspiration in art, music, literature and social studies. There are so many opportunities and…
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How to Homeschool with Disney
Since Covid ruined our real vacation plans (originally posted Spring 2020), we had a Disney staycation last week. I’ve already posted about all of the amazing meals and theme nights we had, (see here) but we also had a week full of Disney activities for our homeschooling! The world of Disney gives us a wealth of literary, art, history, science and math homeschooling activities. Of course I consulted Pinterest for some inspiration and there ain’t a whole lot out there. One of the only Pins I found was from Thesparrowshome.com. She had some great ideas to get me started. Below are some of the ideas I used from The Sparrow’s…
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Incredible Circulatory System Activities for Homeschool STEM Explorers
When homeschooling became mandatory (article originally written in 2020, updated September 2023) it was clear the kids needed more to keep them busy than what the school was providing virtually. I decided to go back to what I had learned in elementary school. Things like cursive, memorizing multiplication facts and the states & capitals. I also decided to dive into the systems of the human body. (Affiliate links included, I may earn a small commission if you click on one of the links, at no extra cost to you!) We started with the basics-what is blood and how does it work in our bodies? Keep scrolling for blood and circulation…
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Chalk Rockets…Our First Fail
One of the first projects we attempted this summer was Chalk Rockets. Sounds awesome, right? Well, in my typical fashion I crossed all of my T’s on this experiment but forgot to dot the I’s. Let me explain… Originally posted Summer 2018; Updated September 2023 What is a Chalk Rocket? This activity is by Growing a Jeweled Rose, their version and successes can be seen here. The idea is to make homemade chalk, load a film canister with it, add an Alka-Seltzer and blast off-messy, colorful chalk rockets! This is definitely an outdoor activity, perfect for summer time! Step-by-Step Instructions for building chalk rockets Step 1 Add corn starch to…
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How to Plan a Great Summer for your Kids!
I’ve been a working mom since day one. This means I’ve never enjoyed (endured) a summer break with my kids. They’ve always been in day camps or at home with family…until this year. This time I would be the day camp and I know my kids don’t function without a schedule, so I used my four months of bed rest to concoct a game plan for a full calendar of summer activities for kids. (Originally posted in 2018) Affiliate links appear in this post. I may receive a small commission if you click on these links with no extra cost to you! Thank you for your support. Summer Planning Step 1: Print…
the chaos manager
